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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



WORKING AND WINNING 



OR, 



HOW TO SUCCEED IN LIFE INSURANCE 
FIELD WORK 

A Summary of the Necessary Qualifications, with 

Numerous Suggestions Gathered from the Experiences of 

Many Successful Solicitors 

BY 

ERNEST C. JOHNSON 

Author of "Our Best Mutual Friend : Life Insurance 
Simplified and Its Principles Explained." 



PRICE, SI. 00 



New Haven, Conn. : 

Published by the Author 

1914 



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Copyrighted 1914, 

By ERNEST C. JOHNSON, 

707 and 708 M alley Building, 

New Haven, Conn. 



DEC -2 1914 

©CU387797 



SPRINftFIELD 

PRINTING AND BINDING 

COMPANY. 



CONTENTS 

Introduction 7 

Importance of Life Insurance Work. Help Offered in 
This Book. 

The Agent Himself 9 

How Much Ought the Agent to Do? Why Do Some 
Agents Come Short? How the Weakness May Be 
Corrected. 

W 7 hy the Agent is Needed 11 

Men Buy What They Want. The Need of Life In- 
surance Remote. The Work to Be Done. 

Life Insurance as a Profession 13 

A Noble Mission Requiring Special Preparation. A 
Splendid Life Work. 

Some Necessary Qualifications 15 

Need of Special Preparation. Adaptability. Personal 
Neatness. Optimism. Enthusiasm. Earnestness. A 
Man of Large Faith. A Good Mixer. Tactfulness. 
Resourcefulness. Industry. Persistency. Cleanness 
of Methods. Loyalty. Courage. Patience. Diplo- 
macy. Courtesy. Must Understand Human Nature. 
Power of Initiative. Promptness and Punctuality. 
Thought and Action. Ability to Concentrate. All Con- 
troversies to Be Avoided. Determination to Succeed. 

The Agent as a Man of Good Character 34 

The Importance of a Good Name. Honesty. Truth- 
fulness. Reliability. Cleanness of Life. Sincerity. 

The Agent's Preparation ...... .0 \ X> . J.^jfl 37 

Insurance Information in General. Some Essentials 
in Particular. 



4 Contents 

The Agent's Field 40 

Best Results to Be Secured Near Home. Temptation 
to Seek Business Elsewhere. 

The Personal Touch 41 

Is the Agent a Meddler? The Agent's Problem. 
Personal Touch Vital. A Result of Confidence Won. 
Seeking for the Personal Touch. 

Obtaining Prospects 44 

Indiscriminate Soliciting. Letters of Introduction. 
Prospects by Mail. Working Among Friends and Ac- 
quaintances. Help from Policyholders. Placing Pros- 
pects Under Obligations. Getting Help from Others. 
Personal Letters to Prospects. Nursing Prospects. 

The Agent and the Interview 50 

Importance of Seeing the Prospect AJone. Should 
Submit a Definite Proposition. A Brief and Pointed 
Presentation. Meeting Various Excuses. Making the 
Settlement. One Method of Finesse. A Supreme Ef- 
fort to Close. 

A Second or Subsequent Policy 55 

Seeking Additional Insurance When Delivering a Policy. 
Little Danger of Over-Insuring. One May Sow and 
Another Reap. 

The Necessity of System 57 

Men Work Haphazardly. Should Have a Card System. 
Should Plan the Day's Work. Letters and Literature 
Should Be Filed. The Agent Should Do a Good 
Day's Work. He Should Keep Tab on Himself. 

Competition 59 

Don't Run Down Rivals. Pressing Home One's Own 
Strong Points. Keeping Well Poised. Retiring from 
a Hot Contest. Dividing the Insurance. Indirect 
Competition. 



Contents 5 

The Agent as a Man of Affairs 62 

Identification with the Social Life of the Community. 
Connection with Business Concerns. 

The Value of Time 64 

Too Many Hours Frittered Away. Cash Value of Calls 
and Interviews. The Time of the Prospect. The Use 
of Stenographers. 

Impressions Through the Eye 66 

How Best to Influence the Prospect. Some Concrete 
Illustration Desirable. 

The Prospect and His Wife 67 

Will Talk It Over with His Better Half. Many Women 
Hesitate to Ask Their Husbands to Insure. Can a Wife 
Profit from Her Husband's Death? A Husband Who 
Knew His Duty. 

The Income Options 69 

The Most Certain of All Provisions. Valuable also to 
Small Policyholders. 

Use of Literature 70 

Many Successful Agents Use Little Printed Matter. 
Literature Has Its Place. 

Solidity of the Old-Line Company 72 

Failure in Every Line of Business. Why Life Insur- 
ance is Safest of All Things. 

W 7 hat Life Insurance Does 74 

Some of the Results of Truly Mutual Helpfulness. 

Insurance Arguments 75 

Protection the Prime Object. Protection for Depend- 
ents. Protection to the Estate. Conservation of 
Estates. A Provision for Old Age. 



6 Contexts 

Life Insurance a Necessity 78 

Most Families Left Without Means. Life Insurance 
a Sure Provision. 

Reviewing Cases 79 

Gaining Valuable Lessons from Experience. 

A Striking Contrast 80 

Vital Difference Between Two Classes of Securities. 

The Discouraged Agent 81 

He Should Do One of Two Things — Should He Quit? 
He Should Brace Up. He Should "Get a Move On." 
One Agent Who Braced Up. 

The Agent and the Company 84 

The Agent Must Secure the Business. 

The Production of Life Insurance. 86 

The Small Writers Produce Most of the Business. In- 
creased Efficiency Easily Possible. 

Fifty Years of Life Insurance 88 

Astounding Increase of the Business During This Period. 

An Argument for Young Men 90 

A Striking Difference in Cost of Insurance in Favor of 
Younger Ages. 

Miscellaneous Suggestions 92 

Some Unclassified Pointers on Various Topics. 

In Conclusion 95 

Final Words on the Price of Success. 



Introduction 



INTRODUCTION 

Importance of Life Insurance Work. 

Some one has said that ''selling life insurance is the best- 
paid hard work in the world.' ' 

Another has called it a work in which "intelligent and 
persistent efforts are bound to produce results.' ' 

Still another has defined it as "a business of unlimited 
possibilities without a dollar of invested capital." 

All three of these statements are true. No work is more 
important and few occupations are more attractive. Selling 
life insurance is a very independent line of business, since a 
man may work as much or as little as he chooses. But its 
independence makes it dangerous, as there is always present 
the temptation to take life a little too easily. 

Among the sellers of life insurance there are some men who 
yearly earn as much as $25,000, and a large number whose 
earnings are $5,000 or more. The fact that a majority of 
life insurance field men are securing only an average living 
simply shows that they are not making the most of their 
opportunities. They may have the natural ability, the 
educational qualification, the necessary knowledge of the 
details of the business and the health of body. 

But somewhere there is a lack — a lack in the practical 
elements of salesmanship. In the case of most, it is a lack of 
industry — they do not work hard enough; they do not talk 
with enough prospects. 

There may be a lack of persistency. They may take too 
seriously the spontaneous "No" of the man they are soliciting. 



8 Working and Winning 



Possibly, there may be a lack of tactfulness, of system, of 
enthusiasm, of courage, of initiative, or of some other things 
which go to make up the ideal equipment. 

Help Offered in This Book. 

The object of this book is to give the new agent, or the 
only partially successful one, some specific, practical sug- 
gestions which, if followed, will make him a larger producer 
of life insurance applications. 

It would have been worth many thousands of dollars to this 
writer if twenty odd years ago this information had been 
compiled and forced upon his attention — somewhat as it is 
herein presented. 

Almost any man can write some insurance; but if the man 
who can compel himself to appropriate and adopt good 
working suggestions does not become an ideal agent, he will 
at least become a successful one. 

Of course, there is no claim to originality for the things 
said. The author has for the most part profited from the 
experiences and observations of many successful agents, and 
reduced to writing the results of their experience. The matter 
has been analyzed, systematized, and so presented as to 
challenge attention to each particular phase of life insurance 
field work. 

"Experience keeps a dear school," says Poor Richard, 
"but fools will learn in no other." 

Any man can learn from experience; but he is truly wise 
who will learn from the experience and observations of those 
who have already paid the price. 



The Agent Himself 



THE AGENT HIMSELF 

How Much Ought the Agent to Do? 

Any life insurance agent whose health is good, who is old 
enough to have gained confidence in himself, or not so old 
as to have either his physical or his mental force abated, 
ought to be able to write at least $100,000 in a year. A 
majority fail to do this. The solicitor who cannot average 
an application a week ought to undergo a severe self- 
examination. The object of the close analysis of the subject, 
as set forth in this little book, is to give such men some 
specific suggestions and directions for becoming better pro- 
ducers. In natural ability the man who produces less than 
$100,000 does not differ materially from the men who write 
three or four times as much. Indeed it has often been noted 
that not a few of the big writers are men of very ordinary 
ability. 

Why Do Some Agents Come Short? 

Wherein lies the weakness of the agent of this type? Does 
he work hard enough? Does he work intelligently? Does 
he work persistently and systematically? Is he using the 
best methods? Is he laboring among the wrong kind of 
prospects — working in the wrong field? Clearly, there is 
error somewhere. In the case of most men the weakness 
can be corrected. They can easily increase their productive 
ability 50 or 100 per cent. This will require some study 
to find out just where the weak spots are, and a strong effort 
of the will to apply the remedy. 



10 Working and Winning 



How the Weakness May Be Corrected. 

The hardest battle some agents have to fight is with them- 
selves. They must learn to know and conquer themselves. 
If they will undergo severe discipline and compel themselves 
daily or weekly to render in writing a strict account of their 
stewardship, they will be both surprised and gratified at the 
result. 

In a nutshell, the secret of success is to be found in gather- 
ing and cultivating a large list of prospects; in using methods, 
not haphazard, but thoroughgoing and systematic; in pre- 
senting the case, not with unstudied indifference, but with 
intelligent zeal; in appealing not so much to the brain of 
the prospect as to his heart; in urging the matter not with 
a spasmodic effort, but with that earnest and sympathetic 
persistency which never gives up — at least not until your 
man is absolutely past hope. 

And now, dear Mr. Small Producer, all this matter has 
been gathered, thought out, and written for you. Would 
you have greater success? Would you enjoy a larger share 
of the world's good things than you now possess? It is yours 
for the taking. But it will not come to you. You must 
go for it. Take this book as a road sign. It will guide 
you and teach you just what to do and how to do it. 

Through this author wise men are speaking to you from 
the depths of their own successful experience, and it is written 
in Holy Writ that the words of the wise are as "apples of 
gold in pictures of silver." 



Why the Agent is Needed 11 



WHY THE AGENT IS NEEDED 

Men Buy What They Want. 

Men buy food, clothing, houses, automobiles, and what 
not, because such things are either necessary or desirable for 
the well-being or happiness of themselves or their families. 
The things suggested appeal to a present want or desire 
and you do not need to urge or to persuade them to buy. 

If, for instance, you were told that a certain man wanted 
to buy a horse, and if you had the kind of horse he wanted, 
you would not hesitate to approach him, nor even ask for 
a letter of introduction. He wants to buy and you want 
to sell, and the horse would speak for itself. It is simply a 
question of the price. It is a case of wit against wit and the 
man w4io is the least anxious gets the best of the bargain. 
In this case the man knows that he wants the horse. 

The Need of Life Insurance Remote. 

But with life insurance the case is different. The need is 
neither present nor urgent. It is contingent, and the benefit 
is apparently far into the future. You must show the pros- 
pect the uncertainty of life and the fickleness of fortune, 
and appeal to his love for his dependents and his undoubted 
desire to provide for their future well-being. You must 
first create in his mind a demand for the goods — a desire 
for the insurance — and then persuade him to exercise an 
unselfish spirit and make a generous personal sacrifice for 
those who would be deprived of his thoughtful care "in case 
anything were to happen to him." 

True, most men intend sometime to lake out life insurance, 



12 Working and Winning 



but they seldom apply for it voluntarily. They delay until 
the agent brings to bear the more or less magnetic charm of 
a strong personality to convert thought into action. 

The Work to Be Done. 

The work of the life insurance agent is twofold. It is to 
secure prospects for life insurance and completed applica- 
tions. By completed application, so far as the agent's 
income is concerned, is meant one on which a policy has been 
issued and delivered. The agent must gather a large list 
of prospects from whom his actual insurants are to come. 
In life insurance work, as in most other lines, there must 
first be a sowing of seed before a harvest can be expected. 
Success depends therefore upon securing the names of a 
large number of men, with whom the agent is to keep in close 
touch. He should send them occasional letters, scraps of 
information about the company and its doings, and circulars 
upon such subjects as best fit their particular case. It may 
be that not all of this will be read, but it will at least serve 
to keep the agent more or less constantly in their minds. 

Above all, he should call upon them as frequently as 
possible without overdoing the matter, and say at least a 
few words. At the time of change of age, or at some other 
psychological moment, he should make a special effort to 
get the desired application. While men don't like to be 
bored, they admire a man who is industrious, persistent, and 
full of ginger; and the insurance agent, like the mining pros- 
pector, never can tell when he may strike a rich lead. He 
simply knows he cannot do so by standing still. He wins 
by working, since "God gives all things to industry," as 
Poor Richard says. 



Life Insurance as a Profession 13 



LIFE INSURANCE AS A PROFESSION 

A Noble Mission Requiring Special Preparation. 

The life insurance agent is not a parasite upon society, nor 
does he go about seeking whom he may devour. Life in- 
surance field work has reached the dignity of a profession. 
If a man is fired with an ambition to serve his day and genera- 
tion to the best of his ability, where can he find a better 
calling? If the object of all human endeavor is to make the 
world better, and the conditions of life easier, and the pleas- 
ures of life sweeter and more widely diffused, then, indeed, 
the life insurance man has a noble mission; for surely all 
these things come as a result of his labor. Thousands of fami- 
lies who now live in comfort would be utterly destitute had 
it not been for the life insurance agent. 

He should, therefore, look upon his work, not merely as 
an occupation by which to earn a living, but as a grand oppor- 
tunity to render efficient service to his fellow man. 

While the profession does not require years of special 
study before a man can begin his labor, yet he will learn, 
little by little, perhaps, that in this work, success, like the 
appetite, grows by what it feeds upon. It is a work that 
requires constant study and close application. The routine 
is not the same day after day, but each day brings new prob- 
lems to solve and new complications to untangle. Con- 
sequently, the man who is able to think and willing to work 
can give full scope to his powers and at the same time enjoy 
the rewards of successful efforts. Every man is paid for the 
business that he actually produces. 



14 Working and Winning 



A Splendid Life Work, 

Life insurance offers a splendid opportunity to the young 
man for a fine and profitable life work. He is the master 
of his own time, as in no other calling, and he is fully the 
architect of his own fortune. Results depend almost en- 
tirely upon his own efforts and he is to hew his own way to 
success. To be sure, friends help wonderfully, but he must 
make his own friends. This is an important part of his 
profession. 

Life insurance should not be taken up and followed in a 
half-hearted, aimless, haphazard way — not as a temporary 
makeshift — but in dead earnest, as if that were the only 
business in the world to which the agent could turn. And 
if he wishes the highest degree of success he must have no 
other business. "He who permits himself to become a 
Jack of all trades, will be master of none," as Poor Richard 
says. 

Life Insurance is a jealous goddess. She gives rich re- 
wards only to those who bestow upon her their sole and 
undivided attention. 



Now and then it is said of some successful insurance man 
that "he is a genius"; but a genius has been defined as a 
man with an unlimited capacity for hard work. 



No matter how dull times are, somebody will buy life 
insurance. Hunt out those persons who are least affected 
or not affected at all by the prevailing dullness of the times. 



Some Necessary Qualifications 15 

SOME NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS 

Need of Special Preparation. 

The reader may conclude that the man who fully meets 
the tests herein given becomes an ideal agent, and that 
therefore the standard has been placed too high. Indeed, 
the object is to put the standard high, and to describe the 
ideal agent. It is the old story of hitching your wagon to 
a star. And yet, the ideal is not impossible — nor is it so 
very difficult of attainment. Many agents are plugging 
along as third rate men because they don't know how to do 
otherwise. They imagine that they are doing as well as 
they can. They have only a fair preparation for their work, 
no system and no standard by which to measure themselves. 

All occupations or professions require special preparation. 
And yet most new life insurance agents are given a rate book 
and a blank application and told to go out after business — in 
many respects the most difficult business in the world. These 
men are in the air. They don't know just what to do. Many 
get discouraged and quit, and others plug along until they 
have learned by dear experience how much valuable time 
they have lost because of a lack of proper knowledge of the 
business and of the necessary qualifications of a successful 
agent. The man who does not produce $100,000 insurance 
per year either never learns the fundamental things or at 
least willfully or blindly fails to utilize the information which 
he has. 

All such men are invited to make a close study of these 
pages. With the new information thus gained will come 
new inspiration and a strong determination to gain that 



16 Working and Winning 



success which seems to come so easily to men who are really 
no more capable than they. 

Adaptability. 

It would not be impossible or difficult for any man who is 
likely to try it to become some sort of a life insurance agent; 
but the man who wants to be really successful must have a 
good degree of adaptability to the business. He should 
not, for instance, be slow of speech or have any physical 
deformity. He should be able to see, to hear, and to walk. 
While he does not need to have a college education, he should 
have an intelligent grasp of the things w^hich interest men 
and be able to express himself clearly and in at least fairly 
correct language. He should be able to approach men in a 
bold and confident, businesslike manner, without any thought 
of apology, either expressed or implied, for suggesting life 
insurance. He must certainly believe that nothing is more 
important than life insurance, and he must be able to impress 
this belief upon the man whom he is trying to interest. 

Personal Neatness. 

On this point little need be said. A word to the wise is 
sufficient. Yet emphasis should be laid on the fact that 
personal neatness in any salesman is of the - greatest im- 
portance and most of all in a life insurance solicitor. The 
agent should always be neatly dressed, inexpensively per- 
haps, but never flashily nor loud. His clothing should be 
freshly pressed and shoes polished. His hands, finger nails, 
and linen should always be clean. He should not drop 
in upon a prospect chewing a toothpick, gum or tobacco, 
nor smoking a cigar — unless he know^s that his prospect is a 



Some Necessary Qualifications 17 

smoker, and even then he should either put aside his cigar 
or offer one to his prospect. The point is, that individuals, 
like verbs, have their moods and tenses, and no agent should 
run the risk of creating a bad impression at the start. His job 
at the best is a hard one, and he should not needlessly en- 
kindle a prejudice or attract unfavorable attention. An 
agent is sometimes knocked out by some unseen force and 
never knows what hit him. The truth is he has run up 
against a prejudice. 

Optimism. 

The successful agent should be an optimist. He should 
not look at life through a distorted vision, but always see 
the bright side. If it is cloudy to-day, he should know that 
the sun will shine to-morrow. If troubles encompass him, 
he should, nevertheless, approach his prospect with a firm 
hand shake, a happy smile, and a hearty greeting. If things 
don't come his way he should keep a stiff upper lip and saw 
wood. He should realize that the world is growing better 
and that it is within the power of every man to help on and 
hasten the betterment. The sun has always shone upon 
all the children of men and it will continue to shine until the 
end of time. He should see the good things, forget the bad 
ones, and ever whistle, " There's a good time a-coming." 

Enthusiasm. 

The successful agent should be a man of a large degree of 
enthusiasm. He should feel that he is engaged in a great 
and noble cause — possibly the greatest and safest business 
in the world ; certainly the only business which will absolutely 
protect families against all possible future wants. 



18 Working and Winning 



He is representing a company which is above criticism 
and which is rendering an important service to mankind. 
He offers a contract which gives every possible guarantee 
to both policyholder and beneficiary. Truly, the man who 
cannot become enthusiastic on the various phases of this 
theme has little reason to expect success. If he finds him- 
self weak in real contagious enthusiasm he needs to retire 
for a little and drink in deep drafts from the proper fountains 
of information and inspiration until he feels that he has a real 
mission in life. If he is only half-hearted how can he expect 
to win the prospect who is both cold and indifferent? 

Earnestness. 

Earnestness is a twin sister of enthusiasm. The agent 
should be so thoroughly in earnest in presenting both the 
advisability and necessity of insurance as to make his pros- 
pect see the matter as he sees it. The points should not be 
urged in a half-hearted, perfunctory way, but with that zeal 
and importunity which should prevail if the welfare of the 
prospect's family depended entirely upon favorable action 
at the present moment. 

A Man of Large Faith. 

Closely associated with enthusiasm also must come faith. 
The agent should believe in his company and in himself. 
He must be a man of large faith in the splendid effectiveness 
of life insurance to contribute to the well-being and happi- 
ness of the world, and he must have a strong faith in human 
nature. He must be absolutely certain that most men will 
avail themselves of the beneficent provisions of life insurance 
when once the thing is impressed upon their attention, and 



Some Necessary Qualifications 19 

he must feel that he is a divinely appointed missionary whose 
duty it is to instruct men in the wholesome doctrine of pro- 
tection for dependents, for estates, and for old age. 

A Good Mixer. 

Fortunate is the agent who is a good mixer. It is not 
enough for a man to possess a splendid character and under- 
stand all the details of the insurance business. If he is to 
gain the best results he should be a good mixer among men. 
This of course does not mean that he should be a jolly good 
fellow in the convivial sense, but that he be pleasant, genial, 
sociable, kind, considerate, appreciative, sympathetic, and 
helpful. He must find it easy to mingle with his fellows; 
he must remember names and faces, and in the best sense 
learn to be all things to all men. 

Tactfulness. 

The agent should be tactful, — that is, he should have a 
quick and intuitive appreciation of what is fit, right, and 
proper. He should be mindful of times and seasons. He 
should know that as there is a time for talking life insurance, 
there is also a time when it should not be done. He should 
not attempt to talk life insurance in the street, or when 
his prospect is busy. He should exercise great care in taking 
up the time of clerks or other salaried men during business 
hours. He should understand that an argument which 
might win one man may offend another. He should not 
interrupt or dispute his prospect, but in the main agree that 
there is much truth in what he says. Don't tell a man that 
he is foolish to carry fraternal insurance; but commend 
him for securing protection, and tactfully explain your own 



20 Working and Winning 



contract. The agent should not be blind to the fact that 
men don't like to be dictated to, or to be seemingly forced 
into taking insurance. On the contrary, they like to feel 
that they are doing the thing voluntarily and that they 
themselves have suggested the reasons which have influenced 
them to action. So lead them that they will think they 
are doing the whole business. 

Resourcefulness. 

Soliciting life insurance is no child's play. It is frequently, 
if not generally, a battle royal. The agent leads the attack 
and the prospect puts up his defense, and he always has the 
advantage, because his citadel is well fortified. When the 
agent is defeated at one point, he must quickly marshal his 
forces for another attack. When this is stubbornly met 
he must again and again seek out some weak spot for a telling 
and successful blow. Hence, the successful agent must be 
a quick-witted, resourceful man and his various moves must 
be made with intelligence and precision. He must be a 
good loser, remembering that if he doesn't win to-day he 
can try again some other day. 

Industry. 

Scores of times it has been said in papers and addresses 
that the " insurance agent should be everlastingly up and 
at it." This remark is so sweeping that even the man who 
most needs boosting dismisses it as a mere figure of speech — 
an ebullition of overwrought enthusiasm. 

Perhaps the agent should always have an eye open to the 
main chance, but it is quite impossible to be " everlastingly up 
and at it" — even during working hours. 



Some Necessary Qualifications 21 

A more careful wording of the idea is that in life insurance, 
as in most other lines of work, industry is the secret of suc- 
cess. " Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and thou shalt 
have corn to sell and keep." The agent cannot apply Poor 
Richard's proverb literally, but he can always appropriate 
its real spirit. He can emulate the little busy bee which 
improves each shining hour. Indeed, he may excel the bee, 
for he can improve many an hour when there is no sunshine. 
In scores of cases the night and the rainy day are the best 
times for his work. 

If one were to give three rules for gaining success in life 
insurance, he might not inaptly state them as follows: First, 
Work. Second, More work. Third, Still more work. The 
sooner the agent learns the necessity for intelligent and per- 
sistent effort, the sooner he will find himself well along on 
the royal road to fortune. He must realize that there is no 
other way — absolutely none. 

When Mohammed had vainly prayed the mountain to 
come to him, he said: "If the mountain will not come to 
Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain." 
The agent must have prospects — plenty of them; but the 
prospect will not come to the agent, and so the agent must 
go to the prospect. And the more "go" he puts into the 
business, other things being equal, the more applications 
he will write. 

One night in a strange city a traveler was hurrying to 
catch a train. As he was not certain of his direction and had 
no time to lose, he inquired of an old colored man how he 
could best reach the station. "Keep a-steppin', Kunnel, 
keep a-steppm'," came the reply, and with it also came 
the thought that the secret of real success in life insurance 



22 Working and Winning 



lay in the same direction. The "stepphV, " however, must 
always be along intelligent as well as persistent lines. 

The writer knows an agent who in a single year has written 
300 applications for nearly half a million of insurance. The 
remarkable thing is that this agent is only a plain sort of a 
man who in the broad sense knows only a little about life 
insurance. He does know, however, that men ought to 
have insurance and he is a prodigious worker. True, he is 
quite an exception, but an exception that proves the rule. 
Is he a lucky man? Nay, not so. " Diligence is the mother 
of good luck," as Poor Richard says, and Poor Richard was 
a wise man. 

So far as success in life insurance is concerned, it may 
safely be said that upon industry hang all the law and the 
profits. 

The harder the agent works, the more applications he 
will write; and the more applications he writes the more 
money he will earn. In full pay for actual work done, life 
insurance excels every other occupation. 

If a man knows that he works hard and still doesn't suc- 
ceed, he should carefully study his own capabilities and 
limitations as well as his entire environment. If he cannot 
apply the proper remedy, he would better get into another 
line of activity. "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? 
He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean 
men." 

Persistency. 

Next to industry comes the heroic quality of persistency. 
Though but little less in importance, it is much harder to 
practice. 



Some Necessary Qualifications 23 

Industry hunts out the prospect; persistency seeks to 
interest and influence him. Industry starts the business; 
persistency explains, argues, and persuades until the good 
work has been done. 

Men are seldom ready to buy life insurance. Sometime 
they are going to take out a good policy, they say, but they 
are not ready now; very likely, next year. The experienced 
agent does not take this too seriously. Certainly, he does 
not forthwith start for the door. On the contrary, he urges 
the importance of decision now. He gives the reasons, one 
after another, for action to-day, rather than to wait for an 
indefinite and uncertain to-morrow. 

When tempted to give up, the agent should remember that 
as hard as his case seems to be, it will be better to keep on 
with this prospect than to go out and seek for another. 

When, finally, the agent is ready to weaken, he should not 
overlook the possibility that his prospect may be almost 
ready to yield. Many an application has been written after 
the agent has thought the case hopeless. 

Not long ago an agent was trying to interest a friend who 
had been a schoolmate in early life, and was then in business 
with his brother. The man had a wife, but no children, 
and practically all his capital was invested in the joint busi- 
ness. The agent, who was an insurance man of the first 
grade, had practically exhausted all his ammunition and was 
on the point of withdrawing in defeat, when his prospect 
was called to the telephone. However, the insurance 
missionary resolved on a parting shot. When his friend 
returned he addressed him as follows: " Billy, I should like 
to ask you one question. Tell me, frankly, how would your 
wife fare if she were thrown entirely into the financial control 



24 Working and Winning 



of your brother?" That shot hit the bull's-eye. "Billy" 
hesitated a few seconds and then made answer, "She would 
fare mighty blank poorly if she fell into John's clutches. 
How much did you say $10,000 would cost?" 

Of course there is such a thing as holding on too long, and 
thereby "queering" the case for the future; but persistency 
will win a dozen cases for every one it loses. 

Often there may be good reason for not trying to crowd 
the case to the limit. Possibly, it may not yet be fully ripe. 

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." 

Perhaps some future call will win. An agent had called a 
number of times upon a physician who became somewhat 
annoyed at his persistency. In petulant tones the doctor 
told him that he wished he would stop coming; that when 
he got ready for insurance he would let him know. The 
average insurance man would not consider such a prospect 
as having very much value; yet in about a year that doctor 
sent for the agent and gave him an application for $10,000 
insurance. 

Discreet persistency always pays. 

Thousands of widows are indebted for their living, not 
to the prudent foresight of their husbands, but to the bull- 
dog, never-say-die persistency of some hard-working agent. 
Do they thank him? Nay; but verily he hath his reward. 

Cleanness of Methods. 

The agent who expects to make life insurance his life work 
will be clean in his business methods. He owes it to himself 
to build up a reputation for truthfulness and square-dealing. 
He will not deceive his prospect nor misrepresent a com- 
petitor. While seeking to establish his own company in 



Some Necessary Qualifications 25 

the confidence of his prospect, he will not knowingly dis- 
parage or unjustly criticise another. In time people will 
learn to know him, trust him, seek his advice, and patronize 
him. 

Loyalty. 

The successful agent must maintain a right attitude toward 
his company, his general agent, his prospect, and himself. 
He must always remember that he is the representative of 
his company and that from his conduct the public will form 
their opinion of the company. Therefore, he should aim 
by every word and act to protect and magnify the good name 
of that company into whose care he is asking the insurants 
to trust their money and the future welfare of their depend- 
ents. Be loyal to the company. 

The general agent has direct charge of the field and has 
set the agent to work — possibly has made him an advance. 
The interests of the two are largely mutual, and their rela- 
tions should be confidential and sympathetic. As the general 
agent is responsible to the company for the business of the 
field, so the soliciting agent is responsible to his immediate 
superior. He should consult him freely, seek needed advice, 
and be frank and open in all his dealings. Loyalty to his 
general agent demands that the agent shall always maintain 
a high reputation and that he put forth his best efforts for 
business. 

Loyalty to the prospect demands that the agent shall 
exemplify the teachings of the Golden Rule. He should not 
work for the commission alone, but also for the real interests 
of the insured and his beneficiary. When the agent is pains- 
taking, honest, and straightforward, the prospect will never 



26 Working and Winning 



discover that he has a twenty year term policy when he 
supposed he had a twenty-year endowment. 

Finally, the agent should be loyal to himself. He should 
each day compel himself to do a good day's work — almost 
the same as though he were required to give to his superior 
a strict account of his day's doings. As all successful pro- 
fessional men are constantly studying to gain greater knowl- 
edge of their business, so must the successful agent ever be 
on the alert to gain such new ideas as shall the better equip 
him for the work of his profession. 

"This above all: to thine own self be true, 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man." 

Courage. 

The life insurance agent should be a man of good courage. 
He should not be afraid of any man. Many agents will 
readily approach the small man, but will shrink away from 
the big man. They should not forget that the big fellow 
is of the same flesh and blood as the rest of us, and that he 
should be neither feared nor neglected. Indeed, he is the 
very one who can be reached w^ith the greatest profit. A 
certain agent recently for a single year reported to his com- 
pany 55 applications which called for an average amount 
per application of over $30,000 insurance. This shows that 
there is big business for the man who has the courage to go 
after it. 

An old book agent relates that he was once working in a 
small city where the most influential man was a banker. 
He dreaded to approach this "big" man to sell him a book. 
Again and again he passed the bank, but could not muster 



Some Necessary Qualifications 27 

the courage to enter. Having finished his canvass he felt 
ashamed to leave town without calling on this man and 
finally compelled himself to approach him, purely to relieve 
his conscience. When he had explained his mission the 
dreaded banker said: "Yes; Mr. B., a friend of mine, has 
told me of you and your book and I have been hoping that 
you would call, for I want very much to get a copy." The 
dreading was purely psychological, — the cause was only in 
his own mind. 

" Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." 

Patience. 

No business requires greater patience than life insurance. 
Because it is possible to get an application, and thereby earn 
a good commission, on the first or second interview, there is 
apt to come disappointment and discouragement when the 
application fails to materialize. The agent must learn that 
only a small percentage of business is easily secured. Rather 
does it come as the farmer gets his crop — by seed-sowing 
and cultivation: first the blade, then the ear, and afterward 
the full grown corn in the ear. 

As on the average it takes from ten to fifteen interviews to 
produce an application, patience must be permitted to have 
its perfect work. Plan wisely, work diligently, wait patiently. 

Diplomacy. 

When first approached most men without the slightest 
hesitation will say that they are not seeking an investment; 
that they are already worth more dead than alive, or that 
they now have all the life insurance that they can pay for, 
etc., etc. 



28 Working and Winning 



Now comes the job for a diplomat. The agent in nine 
cases out of ten knows that his man is not speaking the 
truth; but he cannot tell him so. The man does not mean 
to prevaricate. It is simply his way of saying that he is not 
interested in additional life insurance. But what is to be 
done? The diplomatic agent simply smiles and good 
naturedly spars for an opening. He asks some simple ques- 
tion. He tries to make his prospect say something — it 
makes little difference what — but if he will only talk he will 
feel better and also give the agent a chance to "size him 
up," and to decide upon the proper line of attack. The agent 
professes to agree with what his prospect says, but shrewdly 
tries to get from him certain admissions which will pave 
the way for the much desired signature on the dotted line. 
The diplomatist smiles, is good natured, doesn't contra- 
dict, flatters a little, questions discreetly, and like a skillful 
fisherman quietly and deftly angles for his game. Poets 
may be born, but diplomats are made — rather they make 
themselves. 

Courtesy, 

Courtesy of course should be universal, but it is especially 
desirable in a salesman, and most of all in a life insurance 
solicitor. He has to win his way by first creating the desire 
for his goods and then persuading his prospect to buy. This 
is where a courteous and winsome personality counts. "A 
man without ceremony hath need of great merit in its place," 
says Poor Richard. It is not enough that the agent does 
nothing or says nothing that will in the slightest degree 
offend the good sense or the good taste of the desired client, 
but he must be able to attract his better nature and instinc- 



Some Necessary Qualifications 29 

tively insinuate himself into his good graces. The agent 
should, therefore, study to acquire those numerous details 
which characterize the perfect gentleman, and always to be 
watchful that no act or word of his shall create a prejudice 
against him. Eternal vigilance is the price of applications 
for insurance. 

Must Understand Human Nature. 

The successful agent should be a close student of human 
nature. Men differ as much in their mental methods as 
they do in their physical appearance. Some selfish — or 
possibly thrifty — natures want only endowment insurance 
— something for themselves. Others, more generous per- 
haps, or with greater confidence in their own ability, will 
take insurance only for protection. Some will lay emphasis 
on protection for wives; others for children only. Many 
say they prefer "to handle their own money, " or "to carry 
their own insurance" — ignoring the fact that they can do 
neither. Men give all sorts of reasons for turning down 
the insurance proposition altogether. 

While the proper study of mankind is man, one can learn 
much from essays and text-books on psychology. The 
solicitor must teach himself to recognize and respect indi- 
vidual idiosyncrasies. Something that will be effective in 
one case will fail in another. Seek to know your man. You 
may appeal to one man's pride, but must not suggest duty. 
You may cautiously flatter another for his success, but 
must not hint at any possibility of his own failure; but 
rather at the danger that others may scatter what he 
has so ably gathered. You are always safe in affirming 
any man's unalterable love for his dependents, but must 



30 Working and Winning 



never intimate that he is not planning wisely for their future 
welfare. 

Each case must be viewed from a slightly different angle, 
and the shrewd agent is alert to discover the proper avenue 
of approach. 

Great emphasis is made by many successful agents that 
success is gained not so much by argument as by touching 
the feelings. The appeal must be, not to the brain, but to 
the heart. The application will come, not from logic, but 
from sentiment. Your man may be hard-headed and close- 
fisted, but he is human and has a heart. Find your way to 
his heart. 

Power of Initiative. 

We can all learn from others. The successful man can 
give most valuable pointers to the beginner or to one who is 
less successful. Nevertheless, every agent must strike out 
for himself. He cannot succeed by closely imitating some 
one else, or by blindly groping about in the dark. To a 
certain extent, he must have originality — the power to ini- 
tiate — the ability to conceive and to carry out plans of TiTsT 
own. In life insurance work this will appear both in securing 
prospects and in writing applications. One agent is idle 
half the time for a lack of definite prospects, while another 
has more prospects than he can see. How did he get them? 
By various methods — methods involving the power of 
initiative. 

Then, again, in an interview the agent may be defeated in 
various points of attack; but the power of initiative enables 
him to "bob up serenely,'' until finally he wins by saying and 
doing the right thing at the right time in the right way. 



Some Necessary Qualifications 31 

Promptness and Punctuality. 

While these qualities are necessary to success in every 
calling, in life insurance they are especially desirable. The 
agent should have certain office hours and should be on hand 
promptly to meet a possible caller. If he has made an 
appointment, he should be punctual to the minute. He 
should neither lose his own time nor cause others to lose 
theirs. " Procrastination is the thief of time/' A task 
never becomes easier by putting it off. "Have you some- 
thing to do to-morrow, " says Poor Richard, "do it to-day. " 
When a prospect has been promoted, or has made some 
fortunate business venture, the agent should be very prompt 
in urging additional insurance protection before other plans 
have been formed. Many a prospect has been lost by too 
long a delay in getting after him. Either he died or the 
other fellow got there first. 

Thought and Action. 

In working life insurance intelligent thought and action 
must go together. While the agent must be industrious, 
active, and energetic in getting around he must also be 
thoughtful in properly working up his cases. One hour at 
his desk may count for more than a whole day in simply 
wearing out shoe leather. But herein lies danger. Most 
agents spend too much time at their desks. What would 
one think of a mechanic who habitually spent more time in 
sharpening his tools than in putting them to practical use? 
Yet many life insurance men unconsciously do that very 
thing. Nevertheless, thought is not only useful, but is ab- 
solutely necessary. The agent must carefully study how 
best to meet each particular case, and then convert thought 



32 Working and Winning 



into action by going vigorously after his prospect. Having 
carefully loaded his gun, he should take good aim and shoot. 

Ability to Concentrate. 

The successful agent has learned to concentrate his 
thoughts and therefore his talk upon the real essential 
things in life insurance. The average man knows very little 
about the science of life insurance, and most men do not care 
to learn very much. And so there is always a danger, either 
in answering the questions of the prospect, or otherwise, of 
drifting too far away from the main point. 

The modern military leader has learned the importance of 
concentration upon one point instead of an attack along the 
whole line. Likewise, the agent should use a rifle instead 
of a shotgun. He should be brief, practical, emphatic, and 
as insistent as the circumstances will permit. Into his pros- 
pect he should hammer two ideas: " Secure protection. " 
"Do it to-day." 

All Controversies to be Avoided. 

Men hold different opinions on the various phases of life 
and especially do they differ in their views on politics and 
religion. Some men are very tenacious of their convictions 
and very sensitive concerning them. The shrewd agent 
will avoid all controversies and will take no chances of run- 
ning against the prejudices of his prospects. 

Men of deep-seated convictions get keen enjoyment out 
of public or private discussions, and sometimes they may 
feel it a duty to try to convert another from the error of his 
ways; but the life insurance agent is never to forget that 
while he will very seldom gain a client as a result of a more 



Some Necessary Qualifications 33 

or less heated discussion, it is the easiest thing in the world to 
say something which will completely alienate one who might 
otherwise be a first-class prospect. 

Be independent in your opinions, and don't be afraid to 
let it be known where you stand; but never permit yourself 
to engage in any bitter or acrimonious or even partisan 
controversy. 

"The bitter things that we don't say will never come back 
to plague us in the future," as Poor Richard says. 

Determination to Succeed. 

^s Si,*** 
The agent who has read the qualifications for success in 

life insurance salesmanship may conclude that success comes 
high. It does. That is the reason the commissions are so 
good. That is the reason there are not ten times as many 
agents as there are. 

But within reasonable limits, it may be said that in life 
insurance field-work success will come to any man who is 
willing to pay the price. The price is intelligent and per- 
sistent effort. By giving due attention and thought thereto, 
most men can make their efforts intelligent; any man can 
be persistent; and all men can be industrious in their attempts 
to get business. It rests upon each individual to say, "I 
will," and then to compel himself to carry out that decision. 
A rich reward awaits the man who is determined to succeed. 
The merchant must wait for the coming of his customers; 
the lawyer, his clients; and the doctor, his patients; but 
the life insurance man can go out in search of business. Nay, 
he must do so. He is more truly the architect of his own 
fortune than a man in any other line of business in this worka- 
day world. 



34 Working and Winning 



THE AGENT AS A MAN OF GOOD CHARACTER 

The Importance of a Good Name. 

Shakespeare says that a "good name in man or woman is 
the immediate jewel of their souls," and the writer of the 
Proverbs says that "a good name is rather to be chosen than 
great riches." 

Every man should establish for himself a good reputation. 
This can be done by building up a good character, and 
character-building can be done, and has to be done, by each 
man for himself. Family reputation is a good starter, but it 
cannot keep the machine in motion. 

In life insurance a good character is necessary for the 
highest degree of permanent success, and the agent whose 
cupidity leads him to think that it is smart and profitable 
to obtain an application by misrepresentation and deception 
will sooner or later realize the full truth of that old-fashioned 
proverb that "Honesty is the best policy." 

Honesty. 

The agent should be honest in all his dealings. He should 
pay his debts and meet all his obligations promptly, and 
never attempt to drive a shrewd bargain by beating down the 
price. In cases of dispute he will learn that it is not only 
generous but also profitable to make concessions. The old 
precept, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured 
to you again," may find more tactful expression in the 
modern adage, "He who knows he is right can afford to 
be generous." 



The Agent as a Man of Good Character 35 

Truthfulness. 

The agent should be a truthful man. His daily life should 
be such that all who know him will freely accept his state- 
ments at their face value. All men, or nearly all, hate lies 
and despise liars; and most men will have little to do with 
men of this type. This is pre-eminently true of a thing so 
intangible and so little understood by the majority of intelli- 
gent men as life insurance. 

Reliability. 

The life agent should be a man of reliability. The weak 
and unstable fellow may not do much harm, but he never 
amounts to much. The dependable man not only does 
whatever he says he will do, but he does that which is ex- 
pected of him — generally more than is expected. People 
know where to find him, because they have learned that he 
"will stand without hitching.' ' He gains the universal re- 
spect and good will, and in time will enjoy the profit, which 
comes from such esteem. 

Cleanness of Life. 

The agent must be a man of clean life. "Women and 
wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small and the wants 
great," as Poor Richard says. Gambling, intemperance, 
and immorality will ultimately destroy both body and soul. 
Most people lead clean lives and they will do business with 
those who do likewise. The seller of life insurance appeals 
to the better nature of men, and an appeal from a man who 
is even under suspicion will not be very effective. The 
vicious man is out of place in the beneficent and altruistic 
work of life insurance. 



36 Working and Winning 



Sincerity. 

The man who is honest, truthful, reliable, and clean will 
naturally be a sincere man. He should believe in his work, 
in his company, and in his contract. He will never try to 
induce a client to do something which he himself will not do. 
When he says a thing he means it, and people learn to have 
respect for his opinion. When he recommends insurance in a 
particular company, they trust him and believe that it is all 
right. 

It may be urged that there are successful life agents who 
do not line up with the tests herein given. Unfortunately, 
that is true. These men are especially strong in certain 
directions, but in the long run their marked weaknesses 
usually undermine their temporary successes. How much 
more enduring and substantial their success if only they 
were better men. 

The agent who has an aspiration to live a true and noble 
life will assuredly win the confidence of his fellow men, and 
he will have the satisfaction of seeing this confidence con- 
verted into a goodly amount of that stuff which, while it may 
in time corrode, is nevertheless mighty convenient to have. 

"The honest man takes pains, and then enjoys pleasures; 
the knave takes pleasures and then suffers pains," as Poor 
Richard savs. 



The world contains all sorts of people. Sometimes, it is 
wise to call it, not a life insurance policy, but a " protective 
contract," which can be secured, not by paying an insurance 
premium, but by making " a deposit." 



The Agent's Preparation 37 



THE AGENT'S PREPARATION 

Insurance Information in General. 

It is not necessary that a successful insurance agent be a 
walking encyclopedia of general information, nor that he be 
a fully equipped actuary. He cannot, of course, know too 
much about the insurance business, — if only he is wise enough 
to keep most of his knowledge to himself, — except when, 
little by little, an emergency may call for it. The learned 
talk rarely produces an application. 

The agent should have some knowledge of the fundamental 
principles of the business. He should know the difference 
between life and endowment policies; what is meant by 
reserve, capital, surplus, dividends, loading, interest, etc.; 
and should understand that the premium is sufficient to 
mature every contract. 

He should read up on the growth and development of 
insurance, and should know something about the relative 
age, size, and standing of the different companies. 

He should be able clearly to state the difference between 
old line companies and assessment associations, and to dem- 
onstrate the lack of permanency in the assessment idea. 

He should come pretty near " knowing all about" his own 
company, its history and present strength, its peculiar ad- 
vantages, and its method of dealing with its agents and 
policyholders. 

He should master the terms and conditions of his com- 
pany's contract. This contract is all that the insured has to 
show for his money, and the agent should be able to make 



38 Working and Winning 



his client see that in all the world of investment there is 
nothing else quite so good. 

He should know how to use the insurance manuals and 
other helps; but should go slowly on statistics and place no 
faith in the importance, usefulness, or pertinency of "ratios." 
It is easily possible to construct a ratio which will prove in at 
least one respect that the poorest company surpasses all the 
others. The multiplication table is infallible, but figures 
can be made to lie. 

He should fill his mind with the regular reasons for carrying 
insurance, and be quickly able to answer all objections that 
can be raised. 

He should also familiarize himself with the company's 
rate book, application blanks, and miscellaneous literature. 

Some Essentials in Particular. 

Now, an agent may know much more than has been in- 
dicated and not succeed, or he may know very much less and 
become brilliantly successful. He who would win the largest 
measure of success must study himself and learn whether he 
possesses or can acquire the necessary qualifications for life 
insurance work. Three things are especially necessary: — 

First. He must be at least a fair judge of human nature. 
Men differ, and we must take them as we find them. A little 
study of psychology, or human nature, is quite essential to 
success. 

Second. He must have or acquire the elements of success- 
ful salesmanship. This includes the ability to describe his 
goods in an attractive manner, and so to influence his pros- 
pect that the latter will yield to his winsome persuasiveness. 
The agent must learn to present his argument so as to appeal, 



The Agent's Preparation 39 



for the most part, not to the brain, but to the heart of his 
prospect; not to his intellect, but to his feelings. This is 
where so many agents are weak. Most men are proof against 
logic, but will yield to sympathy and impulse — when you give 
the button the proper touch. 

What does it profit if your prospect gain the whole world 
of insurance information and you fail to get his signature and 
his cash? 

Third. Perhaps the most important essentials are the will- 
ingness to work and the ability to do so intelligently and 
persistently. This is the stone of stumbling to most agents, 
who do not seem to realize that work of the right sort is the 
real corner stone of success. "Would you live with ease," 
says Poor Richard, "do what you ought — not what you 
please.' ' 

The agent who will diligently and faithfully sow seed 
along the lines herein indicated will find himself reaping a 
rich harvest of commissions as a reward for his efforts. 



''How much will a $10,000 policy cost me?" "Nobody 
in this wide world can answer that question. One single 
deposit of $268.80 (age 35) may secure for your family the 
full sum of $10,000. You would consider 10 per cent a 
pretty good investment, wouldn't you? But the above, 
with dividend deducted, would be over 4000 per cent. . If 
you will tell me how long you may live, I can tell you what 
the cost will be. One thing is certain, your annual deposits 
will be splendidly invested." 



40 Working and Winning 



THE AGENT'S FIELD 

Best Results to Be Secured Near Home. 

One town or city may be better than another, but wherever 
civilized men live, move, and have their being, there may 
the life insurance agent ply his calling with a degree of suc- 
cess largely dependent upon his own efforts. In theory, the 
agent's field is the entire region covered by his contract, 
and every insurable man is his possible prospect. His real 
prospects, however, are only those he can see, and with whom 
he can get into close contact. He might better have a list of 
500 names of persons whom he carefully cultivates than 
5000 whom he rarely sees. Just as the thrifty farmer dis- 
covers that he can get better results from the " little field 
well tilled than from a large one half neglected,'' as Poor 
Richard says, so the wise agent learns that he can produce 
more insurance by keeping near at home than by roaming 
widely a-field. 

Temptation to Seek Business Elsewhere. 

When things are quiet around his own neighborhood, it is 
very easy for an agent to imagine that business is much better 
in the town over yonder. Accordingly, he spends his time 
and good money only to find that business is likewise dull 
over there. Moreover, he often learns to his sorrow and 
chagrin that while he was away a competitor captured one 
of his prospects, whom he had not seen for a long time. 

Chasing after the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow 
may give good physical exercise, but it will not yield the best 



The Personal Touch 41 



results in applications for life insurance. On the other hand, 
intensive cultivation by the use of snappy letters, crisp and 
timely circulars, and frequent personal calls — even if in- 
surance is not always discussed — will in the long run bring 
substantial satisfaction. 

A prophet may be without honor in his own country and 
among his own kin, but in life insurance the agent of the 
right sort will do his best work among his friends, neighbors, 
and acquaintances. 



THE PERSONAL TOUCH 

Is the Agent a Meddler? 

Many persons regard life insurance solicitors as presuming 
meddlers. In their view the agent goes uninvited to an 
individual, not to sell him something which he has decided 
to buy, but to pry into his personal affairs and to tell him 
what he ought to do for the benefit of his dearest interests. 
Doesn't the prospect love his wife and children, and doesn't he 
know enough to look out for their welfare without having 
to be told by some gain-seeking outsider what he ought to do? 

When the agent is received with scant courtesy he should 
remember — notwithstanding the tremendous importance of 
his business — that to some extent he has been meddling, and 
with profane feet treading upon holy ground. 

The Agent's Problem. 

The great problem for the agent is, therefore, how to break 
down the barrier of prejudice; how to get the prospect to look 



42 Working and Winning 



upon him, not as an impudent meddler, but as a well-wisher, 
if not a friend; how, in a word, to get "next to" the man 
whom he would truly serve — even if it is to be with profit to 
himself. 

Many cases require the utmost tact. First convince 
yourself that the prospect really needs insurance and that 
his interests would be benefited thereby, then study how you 
may win him by revealing to him his needs. 

"If you would persuade, speak of interest, and not of 
reason," as Poor Richard says. 

Personal Touch Vital. 

The matter of getting into personal touch is one of the 
most vital phases of life insurance salesmanship. It must be 
studied with painstaking care, though particular rules are 
not easy to define. A man will turn down one agent to-day, 
and to-morrow or next week will give his application to 
another. Why? Because the latter was able to get into 
closer personal touch. 

A Result of Confidence Won. 

An agent was once introduced to a prosperous merchant 
by the president of a local bank, who was a policyholder. 
The merchant bruskly said he had all the insurance he wanted 
and refused to discuss the matter. Later, however, the 
agent won his confidence and, during the ensuing four years, 
wrote him on four separate occasions for an aggregate amount 
of $26,000 insurance. Now, the agent was just as good an 
insurance man at the beginning as at the end, but he was a 
stranger and lacked the personal touch. Every successful 
agent has had many similar experiences. 



The Personal Touch 43 



In an eastern city the district manager of a certain com- 
pany and one of his associates had each tried in vain to in- 
terest "the man across the hall" — their nearest neighbor. 
These occasional efforts covered a period of five years, and 
the prospect was regarded as hopeless. One day an agent 
of the same company from a neighboring city dropped in 
and wrote this "hopeless case" for $10,000. How did it 
happen? "Personal touch" in the club and on the golf 
links. 

Seeking for the Personal Touch. 

As has been said elsewhere, the agent must use every 
possible means for getting into the closest personal touch 
with the men he wants to insure. He must extend his ac- 
quaintance and throw out broadly his lines of business and 
social contact. He should learn all he can about the prospect, 
his family, business, and personal characteristics. Most 
men have some human weakness — some special avenue of 
approach. Possibly it may be a great virtue, like love for 
a little daughter. The agent must try to find this gateway 
to the man's inner self by winning his friendship and con- 
fidence. Here is where the importance of business con- 
nection, club membership, committee work, games, etc., 
comes in. 

We sing, "Blest be the tie that binds." And this is a 
splendid religious sentiment. But the tie that binds in the 
life insurance business is the "personal touch." Seek dili- 
gently for it. Get all the insurance wisdom you can, but 
with all thy getting, get into close personal touch with the 
man whom you are trying to insure. 



44 Working and Winning 



OBTAINING PROSPECTS 

Indiscriminate Soliciting. 

Most agents at some time have to do more or less indis- 
criminate soliciting. To call unintroduced, upon total 
strangers, whose faces you do not even know, and who do 
not know you, is the hardest and least satisfactory way of 
working life insurance. In the old days of big tontine es- 
timates there were some Napoleons of insurance — and also 
some lightning prevaricators of the first grade — who could 
secure from strangers the applications on the first interview, 
and there are still some men who can get business in this 
way. But nowadays a comparatively small proportion of 
the total business is so written. 

Another and better way of getting into touch with strangers 
is to make up a select list, obtaining the names from doctors, 
bankers, or other well informed persons, and from various 
happenings in the newspapers, and note all the information 
that can be secured in regard to health, family, financial 
ability, etc. In this way the agent is saved from fruitless 
calls upon one who is uninsurable, or without means, or 
unhappily married, or possibly where divorce proceedings are 
pending or imminent. 

Letters of Introduction. 

The right sort of introductions and letters of introduction 
are of great importance. An old story of the elder Roth- 
schild is worth repeating: A son of an old friend had gone to 
Paris and was kindly received; he explained his plans and 
asked M. Rothschild for a loan. "No," said the financier, 



Obtaining Prospects 45 



"I will not lend you money. But, come, take a stroll with 
me." During the walk M. Rothschild introduced the young 
man as his friend to a number of his acquaintances — a banker 
among the others. The young man caught the hint and 
soon discovered that a " friend' ' of the great Rothschild 
could get all the accommodation he needed. An introduction 
should be one that will count. 

While in making first calls upon strangers the agent will 
sometimes be received with cold civility — and occasionally 
with rude incivility — he will find that on a second or sub- 
sequent call his man has considerably thawed out and in 
time will not merely become a real prospect, but an actual 
insurant. It lies largely with the agent himself. 

Prospects by Mail. 

Some successful agents secure a good proportion of their 
prospects by means of inquiry cards inclosed with circulars 
or personal letters. While the great bulk of such mail matter 
brings no response, yet these agents feel that the right kind 
of effort along this line makes it well worth while. This is 
especially true where the letters or circulars are followed up 
by personal calls. 

Working Among Friends and Acquaintances. 

Every insurable friend and acquaintance should be a pros- 
pect. Some agents feel a little delicate about trying to make 
money out of their friends. On the contrary, they should 
realize that they are doing their friends a great favor when 
they induce them to apply for insurance. Then, too, most 
persons prefer to do business with friends or customers rather 
than with strangers. Don't wait for the friends to ask for 



46 Working and Winning 

insurance. Go after them — go hard. A gentleman once 
asked another who had just applied for insurance why he 
had not given the business to B., a common friend. The 
reply was, "He never asked for it." 

The wide-awake agent will get into the closest possible 
touch with every person he knows; and by personal calls 
and the use of the mails, make them his actual prospects. 

Help from Policyholders. 

Because an agent has written a man once he should not 
to his ease sit down, nor lay his armor by, and conclude that 
he is through with him. He has only begun. Few men are 
fully insured and policyholders should be the best stock in 
trade. They can easily be approached and they are always 
willing to hear something new about the company. In this 
way their interest can be maintained, and at the psychological 
moment they can be written for more insurance. Moreover, 
many of them have sons, brothers, fathers, or friends who 
can be reached through their influence. The agent should 
not wait for them to make the suggestion, but should dis- 
creetly seek their aid and co-operation. 

Placing Prospects Under Obligations. 

Some men are so abundantly supplied with the milk of 
human kindness that they take as naturally to good works 
of various kinds as a duck takes to water. The insurance 
man would do well to be full of good words and kindly deeds. 
If he cannot do so from the pure love of it, he should study to 
do so as a matter of policy. He should be fruitful in schemes 
to get men under obligations to him. For instance, he could 
send customers or clients or patients to desired prospects; 



Obtaining Prospects 47 



he could give verbal or written introductions; invite a pros- 
pect to a baseball game; take a prospect (and wife) to the 
theater or opera or out for an occasional automobile ride, 
or on some special excursion. He might nominate one for 
office in some society or for a member of a committee; or 
offer a vote of thanks for service rendered. Compliment 
men for what they have done and speak well of them and 
their families. Don't overlook the ladies — and the babies. 
Don't be too conspicuous about it, and don't put it on too 
thick. Be discreet; but remember, that while "soft words 
butter no parsnips, " as Poor Richard says, men like to be 
appreciated and to be thanked for what they have done. 

While it would be in bad taste to remind men of what you 
have done for them, most men spontaneously recognize 
obligations and sooner or later will repay them. 

The resourceful agent will gather from these suggestions 
some ideas for putting prospects under obligations and of 
thus bringing men into close personal touch with himself. 
Every insurable man in your field is a prospect — in the making. 
It is up to you to make him a real and profitable one. 

Getting Help from Others. 

Of course every agent will carry a policy on his own life in 
the company for which he is working — unless he is uninsurable. 
You are thus to show your faith by your works. 

Then he should see that every medical examiner is likewise 
insured in the company. The physician ought to be a most 
valuable helper in giving suggestions and in using his influence 
on behalf of the company. In this way he helps you and 
gains examination fees for himself. 

Every policyholder should be discreetly urged to speak a 



48 Working and Winning 



good word for you among his friends and acquaintances. 
Men from time to time discuss insurance among themselves 
and a friend or policyholder can often tell you of a person 
who can be interested in insurance. 

Just recently a total stranger who lived in another city 
dropped into an agent's office and applied for $12,000 in- 
surance. He had been sent by his brother — who was a 
policyholder and a friend. 

Then, too, be watchful for the boys — especially the sons of 
policyholders — who are reaching insurable age. They are 
the future insurants. Make friends with them. 

"Help thy friends, and thy friends will help thee," as Poor 
Richard says. 

Personal Letters to Prospects. 

It has been suggested elsewhere that the agent should 
occasionally write a personal letter to his prospect. Few 
agents do very much along this line, and yet, without doubt, 
letter-writing can be made a profitable part of a solicitor's 
field work. Brief congratulatory letters on birthdays or 
other anniversaries, on occasion of promotions, expansion 
or change of business, moving into a new home, election to 
office, or when anything unusual has happened, are always 
timely and are always appreciated. Good taste and good 
policy alike demand that no shop-talk should be introduced 
into such letters. They are to be purely an expression of 
good will and best wishes for success and should be discreetly 
and tactfully worded. To be sure, it is in order to offer 
verbal congratulation when it can be conveniently done. 

As letters can be written at any time, day or night, or can 
easily be dictated to a stenographer, nothing can be lost and 



Obtaining Prospects 49 



at least something gained by sending a prospect a letter on 
some special phase of insurance. While in nearly all cases 
it will take the personal presence of the agent to get the 
application, occasional letters will at least serve as one means 
of keeping in touch with the prospect. Sometimes, indeed, 
the letter gets the application. 

Nursing Prospects. 

Very few men will buy insurance when the agent thinks 
they should, or as much as he may think their family needs 
require. Consequently, it becomes necessary to nurse them 
along. Here is where an agent may show himself to be a 
veritable genius or a tactician of a high grade. He should 
try to become well acquainted with his prospect and should 
meet him on social or business occasions as frequently as 
possible; but he should by no means discuss life insurance 
every time they meet. The agent should never mention 
insurance except with some definite purpose in mind. If 
the prospect opens the subject, answer him, but briefly and 
suggestively, leaving him in a mood to ask more. Write 
him an occasional letter on some special topic and send him 
from time to time such printed matter as may fit his par- 
ticular case. It is a good plan in your earlier calls to make 
note of his insurance, as maturing policies afford a good 
opening. While the agent should avoid " pestering the life 
out of his prospect, ,, he should make frequent brief calls, 
and at opportune times put on strong pressure for more in- 
surance. He has an interest in his prospect and should try 
to build his fence so high that no competing agent can enter. 

"In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold 
not thy hand." 



50 Working and Winning 



THE AGENT AND THE INTERVIEW 

Importance of Seeing the Prospect Alone. 

When possible, the interview should be arranged by ap- 
pointment, but, of course, it happens that most interviews 
have to be secured on the catch-as-catch-can plan. The 
timeliness of an interview, however, is most important. The 
tactful agent will seek to call at an hour that is perfectly 
convenient for his prospect, and will greet him with a win- 
some smile and a hearty hand shake. He will try to see him 
alone, as the presence of a stenographer or partner prevents 
a free and confidential talk, and spoils the effect of the agent's 
best efforts. It is practically impossible in the presence of a 
third person to get " under the skin" of the prospect. His 
better nature may tell him that he ought to take the insur- 
ance, but he is rarely receptive, and is ashamed, after he has 
hesitated or once said, "No," to have others see him 
''weaken." Consequently, he steels himself and is generally 
proof against the strongest appeals. If you were selling a 
customer a hat or a suit of clothes, attending conditions would 
make little difference. But selling life insurance is like trying 
to catch gamy fish — all the conditions must be just right. 
There should be no interruptions or distractions to absorb 
the attention or to dissipate the impressions you are trying 
to make. The agent should, therefore, study how best he 
can manage to see the prospect alone, when he can most 
effectively say things that might otherwise seem "stale, flat, 
and unprofitable." 



The Agent and the Interview 51 



Should Submit a Definite Proposition. 

The agent will not spend much time in glittering generali- 
ties, but will get right down to the business of life insurance. 
He has studied his man, knows something about his busi- 
ness, income, family needs, personal plans, prospects, etc. 
He has prepared a short and attractive proposition with 
which to catch the eye and upon which to focus the attention. 
The plan presented should be one that is best suited to the 
case and no other should be discussed — unless the prospect 
himself insists upon it, and it may then be best to switch to 
his plan. 

A Brief and Pointed Presentation. 

The agent will not deliver a lecture on insurance. He will 
not saw the air, nor pound the desk; but, getting as close to 
the prospect as possible, and looking him squarely in the 
eye, will make a clear, concise, simple, and brief talk, em- 
phasizing the needs of protection and the importance of a 
prompt decision. 

He will by all means avoid the danger of talking his man 
into insurance and then talking him out of it; but will watch 
for the psychological moment and then strike ! 

Meeting Various Excuses. 

The prospect is likely to make all sorts of excuses. He 
has already provided for his family, or is doing so; he hasn't 
the ready money; or he doesn't want his premiums to fall due 
at this time of the year. Of course, the agent will quickly 
offer time, or the application of the short term or fractional 
rate to defer the renewal date, and will urge the importance 
of a decision now. One by one, he will brush aside all ob- 



52 Working and Winning 



jections and will dwell upon the absolute need of protection 
— a need which may become urgent and immediate. He 
should be able to cite cases where men they both know have 
been snatched away within a year or two after taking out 
insurance; or where men have lately died without adequate 
protection and where a few thousand dollars would have 
meant everything to their families. Everywhere there are 
plenty of sad cases — cases of suffering and want where there 
might have been happiness and plenty. 

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, 
The saddest are these: 'It might have been/ ' 

The agent will not always wait for the prospect to say 
"Yes"; but will, with delicate tactfulness, ask the questions 
set forth in Part I of the application. If he can get the sig- 
nature of the prospect by some discreet suggestion an im- 
portant part of his work has been done. 

Making the Settlement. 

Then comes the matter of the settlement. In most cases 
the agent can collect the premium in advance, or accept a 
note therefor, and thus put the insurance in force from date. 
The applicant can easily be made to see that this is the proper 
and natural thing to do. Just give him the receipt and ex- 
plain what it means. If the settlement is not made, there 
may happen any one of several things which will destroy 
the business, deprive the prospect of needed insurance, and 
cause the agent to lose his expected commission. 

One Method of Finesse. 

A very successful agent in the hardest cases urges the 
prospect to see the doctor to find out if the "necessary cer- 



The Agent and the Interview 53 



tificate of approval can be secured.' ' If it cannot, nothing 
more need be said ; but if it can the plan and amount can be 
discussed later. This method can be made enticing and 
effective when necessary to resort to it. The agent quoted 
finds it much easier to deliver a policy which he holds in his 
hand, than to bring his prospect to a positive decision in 
advance. 

The same agent does not ask the applicant to sign Part I 
at the time the information is elicited, but has the doctor 
secure the signature when the examination blank is signed. 
This method contemplates making the supreme effort on the 
delivery of the policy. 

The Supreme Effort to Close. 

It has been said that an agent should go to the prospect, 
not "to talk insurance, but to get the application. " There 
is something in this. Of course, a talk must lead to the 
application; but the application is the end sought and the 
talk the means to that end. In most cases there is perhaps 
no good reason for delay. If the prospect admits the need 
of insurance, but says he must wait until next fall or next 
year, the agent should generally stay right with him. He 
should point out the danger of death or of physical impair- 
ment and should emphasize the fact that the annual increase 
of the premium will be from three to five per cent. If a man 
were planning to invest next year in a certain stock which 
was paying five or six per cent, and he happened to hear of a 
chance to pick up some of this same stock at a price that 
would net nine or ten per cent, four or five per cent above the 
normal rate, he would make a desperate effort to get the 
money. Men think they can buy life insurance at any time, 



54 Working and Winning 



and they don't fully appreciate what the increase of premium 
means. If the prospect really intends to insure next year 
why should he take the chances involved in delay and also 
lose the vital difference in premiums — for life? The agent 
should seek to reduce to the minimum this "next year's" 
business. So many things may happen. Business reverses, 
sickness, death in the family, loss of position, fear of dull 
times ahead, are some of the things which interfere with the 
fulfillment of a promise to take out a policy in the future; 
not to mention the likelihood of a competitor reaping the 
harvest first. 

The agent should therefore concentrate all his energy and 
bring to bear all the strength, earnestness, and determination 
of a well-disciplined personality to close up the case. 

"An application in the hand is worth a whole dozen to be 
secured next year," as Poor Richard might have said. 



Beware of the man who is going to secure figures from 
different companies and is going to study out the question 
free from the importunity of agents. Tell him frankly that 
while you have great respect for his judgment as a business 
or professional man, he cannot work out the question for 
himself, because he does not know how to apply the vital 
tests; that while he will of course select a good company 
the chances are that he will select the poorest of all he con- 
siders. You can help him to an intelligent decision. Make 
every possible effort to secure a personal interview. 



A Second or Subsequent Policy 55 



A SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT POLICY 

Seeking Additional Insurance When Delivering a Policy. 

In many cases the best time to press a prospect for insur- 
ance is when you are delivering a policy. Your man has 
been fully worked up ; you have carefully and fully explained 
the contract and its splendid advantages, a satisfactory 
medical examination has been passed, and the insurant is 
able to carry more. Additional insurance can be secured 
from the company simply by asking for it. Considering the 
uncertainties of life and the liability to physical impairment, 
this is a valuable privilege, and the shrewd agent makes the 
most of it. The agent who doesn't try hard to place addi- 
tional insurance misses an excellent opportunity. 

Little Danger of Over-Insuring. 

There is very little danger of over-insuring a prospect. On 
the contrary, the amount is generally not placed high enough. 
The prospect is apt to accept the amount suggested and not 
infrequently is flattered when it is placed high. 

Sometimes, though perhaps not often, the applicant him- 
self will suggest a larger amount. Recently an agent solicited 
a young married man of fair income for $1,000. The pros- 
pect had been thinking of insurance and was easily convinced. 
"But," said he, "why should I stop at $1,000? You may 
make it $5,000." 

Very true. If $1,000 is good, why is not more better? 

A western solicitor once met a ranchman at a country 
hotel where they were both spending a few days. Between 



56 Working and Winning 



cigars and visits the insurance agent urged upon his new- 
friend the importance of taking out a $5,000 policy. The 
amount was a guess as he knew nothing about his prospect, 
save that he was buying cattle. The agent was so earnest 
and impressive in his presentation, that finally the ranchman 
inquired somewhat anxiously, "Why couldn't I get $10,000?" 
Sure enough! He could, and he did. 

One May Sow and Another Reap. 

Many an agent has found, to his sorrow and chagrin, that 
not long after he delivered his policy, a competitor has written 
his man for a larger one. He sowed the seed and the other 
gathered the richer harvest. On the other hand, you should 
always be watchful in trying to catch a competitor napping 
along the same line. 

Alexander wept for new worlds to conquer. The life in- 
surance agent is more fortunate. He can, and he should, 
conquer the same w r orld several times. 



When the prospect firmly declares that he is not seeking 
any investment at this time, the agent should quickly respond, 
"I am not asking you to make an investment, but merely to 
protect those already made. I am offering a contract under 
which you can have your salary or income continued per- 
manently in 'case anything were to happen to you/ In such 
an event your family will not need to leave the Avenue for 
a residence on Submerged Tenth Street." 



The Necessity of System 57 



THE NECESSITY OF SYSTEM 

Men Work Haphazardly. 

Order is heaven's first law, and yet most life insurance men 
have never made the discovery. At any rate they have very 
little, if any, system in their work. They trust too much 
to the memory and do things in a haphazard way. They 
forget that system saves time and that time is money. The 
importance of intelligent system cannot be over-emphasized. 
Just as the wise manufacturer studies the ingredients of his 
product, as well as his markets, so the prudent life insurance 
man will study to master the factors that make for success 
in his business. Helpful information can be secured from 
experienced agents and from insurance publications. 

Should Have a Card System, 

System will promote success. The agent should be sys- 
tematic in gathering prospects, and especially in keeping a 
record of them. He should have working cards upon which 
to note all desirable data and to which he can instantly turn. 
He should keep in fresh touch with his cards, watching for 
birthday changes, premiums due, policies maturing, births, 
marriages, deaths, change of business, increase of salary, 
date of last visit, etc. 

Should Plan the Day's Work. 

The agent should be systematic in making his calls. He 
should lay out his day's work in advance, taking twice as 
many names as he can use, so as to make up for those who 



58 Working and Winning 



are out or who cannot be seen. The route list for the day 
should of course be as compact as possible. In everything 
plan to save time. 

Letters and Literature Should Be Filed. 

Letters received and copies of important letters written, 
should be carefully filed away; all company reports, letters 
of instruction, and helpful literature should be kept where 
they can be easily found. Frequently an hour is spent in 
trying to locate something which ought to be found in a 
second. 

The Agent Should Do a Good Day's Work. 

The man who is determined to succeed will school himself 
to do a good day's work every day. He could profitably 
try to average a certain number of calls, or to work a given 
number of hours, or at any rate he can be regular and sys- 
tematic in his labors, and satisfy himself at least that he is 
putting forth his best efforts to secure business. 

He Should Keep Tab on Himself. 

He will greatly profit thereby if he will compel himself to 
make a daily report of the calls made and the interviews 
secured. The value of this suggestion lies in the fact that a 
good man will soon become ashamed of his hitherto easy- 
going manner of life and will brace up. Hundreds of times 
agents have gone out and secured an application after they 
have thought their day's work done. 

"Keep thy shop well," as Poor Richard says, "and thy 
shop will keep thee." 



Competition 59 



COMPETITION 



Don't Run Down Rivals. 

Having studied fully into the strong points of his own 
company, the agent naturally comes to the belief that his is 
the best company in the world. Yet, he must recognize 
the fact that all well-established, old-line companies are not 
only good, but that they are the best and safest institutions 
that exist. The agent should not, therefore, speak disparag- 
ingly of any company, nor run down its representatives. 
If he permits himself to make any error at all, it should be in 
sounding the praises of both the company and the agent. 
The solicitor should realize that he is not arguing a case before 
a court where logical argument and just judgment prevail, 
according to the law and the evidence, but that he is to gain 
his success by an appeal to the better nature, the sentiment, 
the finer feelings of his prospect. On the general theory 
that "you can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than 
with a gallon of vinegar," as Poor Richard says, the agent 
can get into closer touch with men when he speaks kindly 
of his rival than when he speaks of him in terms of asperity. 

Pressing Home One's Own Strong Points. 

Admitting the good points of his competitor, the agent is 
all the better prepared to emphasize the strong features of 
his own company and its contract. He is to remember that 
it is not only the facts that count, but also the peculiar way 
in which they are presented. The prospect should be made 
to see that getting the insurance now is the essential thing, 



60 Working and Winning 



and that the particular company is, after all, only an incident. 
If a competitor is making misrepresentations of any kind, 
the suggestion should be made that all pertinent points be 
reduced to writing and duly signed. This will appeal to the 
prospect as a fair proposition and the different claims can 
be easily met. 

Keeping Well Poised. 

Above all, the agent should keep good-natured and sweet- 
tempered — even when he loses. 

An agent was once trying to insure a young man fo£ $2,000. 
He went into the case fully and fairly; but in spite of his 
better showing, lost to a rival — on a rebate, which he declined 
to meet. However, he kept his poise and retired in good 
humor. A year afterward the father of the young man 
invited him to come around and write his son for $5,000 — 
and there was no competition this time. 

Retiring from a Hot Contest. 

While every agent likes to win a hotly contested case, and 
while none likes to run away from a competitor, it may after 
all, in most cases, be more profitable to retire from the con- 
test and to go out to seek new applicants. It will generally 
be found that more insurance and larger commissions will 
come where no competition exists than where many hours 
of time and a large volume of nervous energy are expended 
in a red-hot fight. 

Dividing the Insurance. 

Many shrewd agents when they find themselves in a sharp 
contest, instead of wearing out both themselves and the 



Competition 61 



prospect in a fight to the finish, suggest the wisdom of dividing 
the insurance. Nearly always this is satisfactory to the 
insurant, who is pleased to have the matter quickly settled 
and to have his insurance in different companies. Blessed 
are the " piece-makers,' ' for half a loaf is better than no 
bread at all. 

Indirect Competition. 

Nearly all agents at one time or another experience what 
one might call instances of very annoying indirect competition. 
This occurs in those cases where the prospect has been written 
once and is regarded as good for more insurance sometime. 
You have given him satisfactory reasons why he should have 
insurance in your company and have felt perfectly safe for 
the future. Nevertheless, after a year or so you learn, with 
surprise and disappointment, that a competitor, with an 
inferior company, has entered your preserves and carried off 
your game. Frequently, the policy is larger than the one 
you wrote. How did it happen? Had you not told your 
client that yours was the best company; that the contract 
was the most liberal; the dividends the largest? And yet 
he has taken insurance in this inferior concern! You feel 
hurt. But did you not leave the bars down by failing to 
write all that your prospect could carry? Did you not neg- 
lect him too long? Or is your competitor a stronger man 
than you? In your own self-defense, you should give careful 
study to questions such as these, and learn to be more vigilant 
in the future. 

"While thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone!" 



62 Working and Winning 



THE AGENT AS A MAN OF AFFAIRS 

Identification with the Social Life of the Community. 

To be really successful the agent must not be a cypher in 
the community, but should be a man among men. He 
should be a man whose opinion is sought and whose judg- 
ment is respected. As far as possible, he should be interested 
in the business, civic, benevolent, and religious affairs of the 
town. He should be a member, or at least a regular pledged 
contributing attendant, of some church; a member of at 
least one of the great secret societies; a member of the busi- 
ness men's club, and some of the scientific, social, athletic, 
and other clubs and societies which exist in his community. 
He should attend the meetings, contribute to their support, 
and be willing to serve on their committees. 

It may be urged that this will take time and money. That 
is true. "But," as Poor Richard says, "he who could catch 
fish must venture his bait." The time and money will be 
well spent. These things will enlarge one's acquaintance, 
and help to bring one into close touch with men who ought 
to become good prospects and clients. In this way hundreds 
of men whom the agent would not otherwise meet. will learn 
to know and appreciate him. While they may not call upon 
him to buy insurance, they will always grant him an inter- 
view when he asks for it, and it is then up to him to do the 
rest. 

Many an application has been written as a result of club 
membership or a game of golf or tennis. The agent may 
lose the game, but in time he will win an application. 



The Agent as a Man of Affairs 63 



Connection with Business Concerns. 

The agent will find it a splendid field for investment to 
own stock in banks, factories, and other local enterprises. 
Instead of putting his savings — even if they are not large — 
into individual holdings, or into railroad or industrial com- 
panies, he should invest his money at home. The more 
concerns with which he can get identified the better. If he 
can become a director in a bank or other enterprise the ad- 
vantage will be a decided one. Nothing succeeds like success, 
and the world respects and honors the successful man in 
every walk of life. 

The investment is to be made not for the direct dividend 
which will come therefrom, but for the help that the con- 
nection will be to him in securing applications for life insur- 
ance. He should not of course violate good taste, by talking 
shop in season and out of season, or suggest to the officers, 
stockholders, or employees of these companies that they 
should buy insurance of him because he is identified with 
them. He will not need to do this, since they already know 
of the identity of interest, and in nine cases out of ten they 
will on that account give him the preference. 

The main point is that the business association brings the 
agent into close contact with other men. He becomes well, 
if not intimately, acquainted with them, learns much con- 
cerning their circumstances and characteristics and there- 
fore knows how to approach them, and drive home the argu- 
ments which best suit each particular case. This he should 
not hesitate to do. 

Then, again, these associates, having become his friends, 
will be glad to use their influence among their friends on 
behalf of the agent, who thereby gains new prospects. 



64 Working and Winning 



THE VALUE OF TIME 

Too Many Hours Frittered Away. 

"Dost thou love life," says Poor Richard, "then do not 
squander time, for that is the stuff that life is made of." 

The sin which doth so easily beset most life insurance men 
is the failure to appreciate the real value of time. It is not 
that men should put in long hours of work, but that they 
should make the most of the ordinary working hours of the 
day. Confessedly too much time is spent in the morning in 
attending to certain duties at home. Then, there are many 
little matters at the office, and the forenoon is well-nigh spent 
before the agent — who imagines that he has been busy — is 
ready for the real business of his profession, the securing of 
applications for life insurance. 

Cash Value of Calls and Interviews. 

A number of systematic field workers have figured out the 
cash value in first commissions of their calls and interviews, 
and one company has compiled the work of twenty-five 
selected men. These men, it may be noted, are not the big 
producers, but the writers of average sized policies. The 
results vary, but in general it has been found that calls are 
worth from $1.00 to $2.00 each, and real interviews from 
$2.00 to $3.00 each. It has been observed that men would 
not need to be urged to their best efforts if they were paid 
on this basis for calls and interviews, and yet that is what 
their efforts would bring — not to mention future renewals. 
If compensation were made on the basis of calls actually 
made, no agent would strike for an eight-hour day. 



The Value of Time 65 



The Time of the Prospect^ 

The agent should never forget that the time of the man 
he wishes to see is also valuable. He should accordingly call 
upon him when he is the least busy. He should prepare 
himself for the interview and learn to be brief, terse, and 
concise. He must not deliver a lecture on insurance, but 
must condense into five minutes what he may have spent an 
hour in working up. The prospect doesn't care to know 
very much on the subject. If once he admits the need of 
insurance, the main question that he will ask is, "What am 
I to give and what am I to get?" 

The Use of Stenographers* 

Many agents find it profitable to employ stenographers to 
attend to the details of office work. When good help can be 
secured at from $40 to $75 per month, a solicitor's time ought 
to be too valuable to be spent in keeping records, making 
out propositions, writing letters, mailing circulars, and work 
of that kind. Possibly to some the matter of cost may seem 
prohibitory, but it always pays to let $1.00 go if thereby $2.00 
can be brought back. Directly and indirectly many useful 
suggestions and now and then an application will come 
through the lady of the typewriter. 

The life insurance agent should commit office details to 
others, and himself go out in search of applications for 
insurance. Railroad managers don't use the magnificent 
Mogul engines for switching purposes, but for hauling long 
trains over heavy grades. Keep busy with a man's job. 



66 Working and Winning 



IMPRESSIONS THROUGH THE EYE 

How Best to Influence the Prospect. 

Psychologists tell us that actual experiments have demon- 
strated that 80 per cent of all the impressions made upon the 
brain reach it through the eye — through the eye-gate, as they 
say. While this truth shows us how terribly handicapped is 
the blind man, it also teaches the wisdom of utilizing the eye 
in seeking to make the desired insurance impression. When 
you are talking to your prospect, for aught you know his 
thoughts may be miles away. He hears your words, but 
fails to catch their import. If the psychologists are correct, 
we lose 80 per cent of the full strength of our efforts unless 
we have something that will attract the eye. 

Some Concrete Illustration Desirable. 

The thing shown should be as striking as possible. It 
should not be heavy or hard to grasp, like an array of figures, 
but simple, plain, and suggestive. It might be a proposition 
in brief form, the income feature, for instance. Some agents 
show with excellent effect a photograph of a draft for a large 
loss recently paid in the locality. Others have used such 
things as a picture of a sheriff dispossessing a widow of her 
home under foreclosure proceedings; or more happily the 
picture of a home bought with the proceeds of a matured 
endowment. It doesn't matter much just what it is, if only 
it can be made to attract attention and stir the feelings of the 
prospect. The main thing to remember is that with the 
average man 80 per cent of your power of approach to the 
desired goal must be through the eye-gate. 



The Prospect and His Wife 67 



THE PROSPECT AND HIS WIFE 

Will Talk It Over with His Better Half. 

Frequently, when the agent thinks he has his prospect 
well in hand, the latter will remark that he now under- 
stands the matter and will talk it over with his wife, as she 
is an equal partner in all his affairs. Sometimes this is said 
in good faith; but frequently it is simply to throw the agent 
off his scent. 

A certain successful agent has a clever way of meeting this 
point. He says: "Mr. Blank, possibly you may not be in 
as good physical condition as you think; and why should you 
disturb or alarm your wife needlessly? Don't you think 
it would be w T ise first to see our doctor and find out whether 
he can give you a Certificate of approval'? If he cannot, 
you need not tell your wife and she will be spared a great 
deal of anxiety and consequent worry. If you can get the 
certificate of approval, we can discuss the plan and amount 
later." 

This, of course, paves the way for a specific policy. When 
it comes, the agent seeks to deliver it without the knowledge 
of the wife. He reminds the prospect that as he does not 
consult his wife concerning the various details of his business, 
so it is not necessary to do so in the matter of insurance. 
If this fails, he goes to the wife and has a heart to heart talk 
on the entire subject of protection, estates and income. He 
rarely fails to convince the wife, especially where there are 
children. 



68 Working and Winning 



Many Women Hesitate to Ask Their Husbands to Insure. 

It is often well for the agent to use the familiar argument, 
that it is scarcely fair to the wife to require her to say that 
she wants her husband to use his money for her benefit in 
case of his death. Many women are hesitatingly delicate 
about this. A loving and considerate husband will not 
make it necessary. Live or die, he will make the best possi- 
ble provision for his wife. 

Can a Wife Profit from Her Husband's Death? 

Some women object to life insurance because of the thought 
that they seem to desire to profit from their husband's death. 
Of course this is an error, as the income from the insurance 
can generally cover only a small part of the husband's earn- 
ings. There is no more reason for rejecting the husband's 
life insurance money than in throwing aside all the stocks, 
bonds, and real estate which his efforts have provided. 

A Husband Who Knew His Duty. 

An agent was once writing a man's application when the 
latter's wife entered his office. The applicant made a motion 
indicating silence, and chatted a few moments w^ith his better 
half. After she had gone he said to the agent: "My wife is 
opposed to life insurance; but I know what my duty is to her 
and to the children, and hence I am applying for this policy 
without her knowledge or consent.' 1 That was one of those 
rare cases where the prospect decided to take insurance 
without direct solicitation. 

Would that all men could be like this man and that other 
historic hero of whom it was said, "He seen his duty and 
done it/' 



The Income Options 69 



THE INCOME OPTIONS 

The Most Certain of All Provisions. 

In the evolution of the ideal policy contract, perhaps the 
most important feature is that of the income options; and 
the enormous increase in life insurance written is at least 
partly due to this provision. A great many men of inde- 
pendent means see no need of life insurance, and they quickly 
tell us that their dependents will be well provided for without 
it. This gives the agent the opportunity to introduce the 
idea of conservation — especially of explaining the various 
forms of income options. When you tell a man that a great 
life insurance company, with its hundreds of millions, will 
shield his wife or daughter from any error of judgment on 
the part of herself or any one else, and will guarantee her an 
income for life, he becomes interested, even if he has just said 
that he does not want any life insurance. Every item of his 
fine estate may dribble away, but the life income, like the 
babbling brook, will run on forever — at least, so far as his 
beneficiary is concerned. 

The income options afford a fine opportunity to secure 
good sized policies, and agents should work this feature for 
all that it is worth. Only think! One premium of a few 
hundred dollars may secure to a beneficiary $100 per month 
as long as she lives ! 

Valuable also to Small Policyholders. 

The income feature is valuable also to the small policy- 
holder. It not infrequently happens that the proceeds of a 



70 Working and Winning 



small policy are badly invested or quickly frittered away, 
because the beneficiary does not fully appreciate the value 
of money. An income of $10 or $20 a month may seem small, 
but in most cases it will prove to be the best provision that 
can be made. Far better is a small permanent provision 
than a larger one that will soon vanish. 



USE OF LITERATURE 

Many Successful Agents Use Little Printed Matter. 

Does circularization in the life insurance business pay? 
Perhaps most successful agents will say that its value is at 
least doubtful. They will tell you that either the stuff is 
not read at all, or that even if it is, and the reader becomes 
a bit interested, he neither starts for your office nor invites 
you to come to his. Then, again, the sight of an insurance 
circular on the desk makes a fine entering wedge for some 
competing agent. They will tell you also that you do not 
need to appeal to a man's intellect to satisfy him that he 
ought to have insurance, for most men know it and admit it; 
but that the appeal must go to his heart, and that this needs 
the magnetic influence of the agent, the warmth, earnestness 
and enthusiasm of whose personal presence are necessary 
in order to get the signature on the dotted line. 

Literature Has Its Place. 

On the other hand, some successful men get many of their 
prospects in answer to letters or circulars. 

It is too late in the world's history to say that advertising 



Use of Literature 71 



does not pay. To produce results, however, the advertising 
must be of the right kind — something that hits the mark; 
and it must be followed up by personal calls. A successful 
agent should have a card list of at least 500 good names to 
which additions are to be made from time to time. None 
of these prospects should be neglected. While it will take 
several months to make the full rounds of this list, the agent 
can in the meantime send personal letters or circulars every 
month or two. The matter may not all be read, but it will at 
least show your prospect that you have not forgotten him, 
and will also serve to help him to remember you. 

Occasionally, a man applies for life insurance unsolicited. 
Doubtless an educational campaign of the right kind would 
cause the number to increase. "A constant dropping wears 
away the stone," says Poor Richard. 



Never approach a prospect with the remark, "You don't 
want to take out that policy to-day, do you?" Of course 
he doesn't. The form of question suggests the negative. 



Never attempt to talk insurance in the street. Some com- 
petitor is liable to see it or hear of it and will get on to the 
scent of your quarry and make the business that much 
harder. 

Don't attempt to talk with a prospect when he is especially 
busy. Try to make a date, and withdraw quietly. 



Avoid detaining a prospect near mealtime. He begins to 
get fidgety, and it is nearly impossible to get a man to commit 
himself on an empty stomach. Try him after dinner. 



72 Working and Winning 



SOLIDITY OF THE OLD-LINE COMPANY 

Failures in Every Line of Business. 

Regular legal reserve life insurance is not only the safest 
thing in the world, but it is absolutely the surest in the out- 
working of the expected or desired results. Railroads have 
been mismanaged and their securities have lost their value; 
industrial companies have been inflated and have collapsed; 
banks and trust companies have been looted; commercial 
enterprises by the thousands have gone to the wall — fre- 
quently because of dishonesty — and business concerns of all 
kinds have gone to destruction through the weakness or 
wickedness of men. But the old-line life insurance system 
stands out as the one and only absolutely safe thing in all the 
business world. It challenges admiration both for the 
ability and integrity of its management. If here and there 
at some time a sore spot has been discovered, it need only 
be said that the companies are in the hands of human beings 
and that mistakes have been made; but nevertheless, no 
business in the world can compare with the life insurance 
companies in their freedom from graft; in their faithfulness 
to the sacred trusts imposed upon them, and in the absolute 
certainty of the results expected from them. 

Why Life Insurance is Safest of All Things. 

Among the things which make life insurance the safest and 
surest of all things are the following: — 

1. After centuries of observation and study the average 
duration of life has become well known. 



Solidity of the Old-Line Company 73 



2. The earning power of money is also known and it is 
easy to decide upon a rate of interest which can always be 
realized. 

3. A knowledge of these two facts enables the actuaries 
to construct tables of premiums which will pay all death 
losses and ultimately mature every policy. 

4. The companies are managed by men of great integrity, 
high-class ability, and complete knowledge of the details of 
the business. 

5. The assets are invested in absolutely safe securities — 
in first-class mortgages and gilt-edged bonds — by men who 
are experts in the investment field. 

6. The investments run into the millions and hundreds 
of millions, and are so widely distributed that an occasional 
loss — even if the impossible should happen — would have little 
effect upon the general average. 

7. Likewise the insurance risks are so carefully selected 
and so widely distributed that a disastrous epidemic could 
have little effect in forcing the death rate beyond that of the 
mortality table upon which the premiums are based. 

8. The companies are under stringent regulations of the 
insurance departments in all the states and are held to a 
strict accountability for their stewardship. 

9. The insured and their beneficiaries are fully protected 
by their policy contracts and the company officials have no 
interest in withholding from any one that which is his due. 

10. Finally, the courts are always open to award strict 
justice to any policyholder who may have a real grievance. 

For fair treatment, absolute safety, and exact justice to 
its members, life insurance leads the world. 



74 Working and Winning 



WHAT LIFE INSURANCE DOES 

Some of the Results of Truly Mutual Helpfulness. 

Life insurance is the greatest " Co-operative Common- 
wealth" the world has ever known. 

It mutualizes and equalizes the interests of the rich and 
poor. 

It creates and conserves estates. 

It preserves the home and saves widows from grinding 
poverty. 

It keeps children in the family circle, educates them, and 
gives them an even chance in the world. 

It pays off the mortgage and prevents business interests 
from being sold under the hammer. 

It gives dependent ones an income for life. 

It saves money when everything else has failed and makes 
old age pleasant, comfortable, and happy. 

It wards off the sheriff and gives a cold reception to the tax 
collector. 

As it prevents poverty, so also it shields from crime and the 
consequences thereof. 

Such, in brief outline, is in part the work which the life 
insurance solicitor seeks to accomplish. Is there anywhere 
a more useful occupation? What other business career 
gives the same opportunities for good? What other can 
offer so much inspiration to live a great and noble life? 

As Poor Richard says, "The noblest question in the world 
is, 'What good can I do in it?' " 

Life insurance is big, altruistic work for big, materialistic 
dollars — and the more work, the more dollars. 



Insurance Arguments 75 



INSURANCE ARGUMENTS 

Protection the Prime Object. 

The prime object of life insurance is protection. Each life 
has a certain economic value, and if death comes prematurely 
the world in general, and the family in particular, lose what- 
ever that life would otherwise have produced. Insurance 
comes in as a grand mutual scheme to equalize the loss. 
Therefore, it is wise that there be an insurance provision to 
take the place in part at least of the lost earnings. 

The protection afforded by life insurance may be classified 
under four separate heads — each of which may be variously 
subdivided, so that an agent should be able to give more than 
a score of unanswerable reasons for carrying insurance. 

Protection for Dependents. 

This is the fundamental object of life insurance. It will 
provide a fund for the wife and other members of the family, 
immediate or remote; to educate children and otherwise 
give them a start in life; to pay off a mortgage on the home, 
or to meet other family obligations. Provision may also be 
made for a gift for some worthy object in which the insured 
is especially interested. 

Protection to the Estate. 

The second object of insurance may also be subdivided 
at pleasure. When death comes various business interests 
are likely to suffer. Insurance money w^ill take care of 
maturing obligations or will enable the heirs to carry on the 
business until it can be closed out to advantage. In case of 



76 Working and Winning 



a partnership, it will provide a fund either to buy out the 
interest of the deceased member, or to make it possible to 
continue the business. When a man dies the loss of his 
services, and especially the loss of his guiding hand, will 
inevitably cause a shrinkage in his property values, but the 
ready insurance money will protect the firm's assets and 
credit at a critical time. 

In some cases the success of an enterprise depends upon 
the knowledge and skill of a single individual. Common 
business prudence, therefore, demands that there be insur- 
ance on such lives up to the full amount at risk. Then, 
too, there may be real estate or securities of low present, 
but large prospective value. Insurance would make it 
possible to hold such property until it would be profitable 
to sell. Insurance money has saved many solvent estates 
from bankruptcy by tiding them over an emergency; and in 
many cases, by enabling the estates to avoid sacrifices during 
severe financial storms, the real value of the insurance has 
been much more than the face of the policy. 

A certain young man was striking out on somewhat new 
lines and was building up a splendid business. His ability 
and reputation were first-class and he was able to borrow 
heavily to meet the needs of a rapidly growing enterprise. 
When, however, he was suddenly snatched away by an acci- 
dental death, certain individuals, knowing of the outstanding 
obligations, hoped to buy the business for a small part of its 
real value. But the young widow said, " No." Her husband 
had carried sufficient life insurance to pay his debts twice 
over; and he had told her, "if anything happened to him," 
to pay off all obligations and run the business herself until 
it could be profitably sold. 



Insurance Arguments 77 



Conservation of Estates. 

Not only may life insurance create or increase an estate, 
but it is the best conserver of estates that the world knows. 
Instead of having the insurance money paid down in one sum 
to be hazarded on some more or less uncertain investment, 
the insured may stipulate that the beneficiary have the 
income for a term of years, and that the principal be then 
paid to certain heirs ; or that an annuity be paid to the bene- 
ficiaries as long as they live. A single loss may mean ruin 
to an individual, but an insurance company has thousands 
of separate investments running in the aggregate into hun- 
dreds of millions, and even if there should be an occasional 
loss, the law of average makes it of no effect. 

A Provision for Old Age. 

This is a splendid argument for life insurance. The vast 
majority of men, as is well known, fail to accumulate for 
their later years. Many who have been rich, or at least well- 
to-do, find themselves needy or destitute in later life or old 
age. All policies except term have cash values, and the man 
who has outlived the need of protection for dependents, can 
utilize the cash value for his own support when everything 
else has gone against him. Most men are confident of their 
ability to handle their own money, but the agent should 
drive the old age argument into the consciousness of his 
prospect until it strikes home. "Over the hill to the poor 
house" has no terror to the man who is well insured. 

"For age and want save while you may; no morning sun 
lasts a whole day," as Poor Richard says. 



78 Working and Winning 



LIFE INSURANCE A NECESSITY 

Most Families Left Without Means. 

The primary object of life insurance is to provide an estate 
or income to take the place of the salary or earnings of the 
bread-winner who may be snatched away at any moment 
by premature death. As the vast majority of men fail to 
accumulate an adequate estate, and as most families are left 
either in destitution or with insufficient provision, it is easy 
to see that life insurance by means of which these hardships 
can be prevented has become an absolute necessity.* 

Life Insurance a Sure Provision. 

It must be urged upon the minds of men that next to 
supplying the common necessities of life, obtaining a life 
insurance policy is the most important thing they can do. 

The agent, therefore, doesn't need to apologize for his 
calling; but, on the contrary, he should be impressed with 
the fact that he is conferring a great favor upon those w4th 

*Mr. E. J. Clark in a recent article says: "From January 1, 1901, 
to December 31, 1905, out of 27,011 registered adult deaths, according 
to the records of the Surrogate Courts of the United States, 23,051, or 85.3 
per cent, left no estate. Thirty-five per cent of all widows were left in 
absolute want and 90 per cent of the widows lacked the common comforts 
of life. There are approximately 3,100,000 widows in the United States, 
1,000,000 of whom are over 65 years of age. Of this latter number 900,000 
are now dependent on the generosity of relatives, charity, or the state. 
In addition to this appalling situation, think of the millions of fatherless 
and orphan children, whose intellectual, moral, and physical natures have 
been dwarfed through poverty, in consequence of the death of a father 
who neglected, through procrastination, indifference, or ignorance (they 
all amount to the same thing) to make provision for them against his 
death. * * * Only three men out of 100, at death, leave an estate of 
$10,000, or over, and as a further evidence of this universal and nation-wide 
improvidence, there are 5,000,000 women in the United States compelled 
to work for a livelihood." 



Life Insurance a Necessity 79 



whom he deals. Indeed, he should feel that, to some extent, 
he is responsible for the future welfare of many who may 
soon become widows and orphans. 

Very often, men who were induced to take out life insurance 
only after most persistent efforts, and who felt very much 
bored at the time, have afterwards expressed to the agents 
their gratitude for compelling them to do their simple duty. 

An agent doesn't need to be long in the field before he will 
see the widow's smile through her tears, as he hands her the 
company's check in payment of the policy which is always 
the best and often the only thing, that the dead man has left 
to his family. 

While, therefore, the agent is striving to make an honest 
living, he should realize that he is in the truest sense a bene- 
factor and that he is engaged in a great and noble business. 



REVIEWING CASES 

Gaining Valuable Lessons from Experience. 

The agent will greatly strengthen himself for future work 
if he will carefully review his interviews. It doesn't matter 
whether he has won or lost, he should thoughtfully go over 
the entire ground and make a note of everything which had a 
bearing on the case. Possibly he may have said the wrong 
thing at a critical moment, or the prospect may have asked a 
question which he could not answer. No matter what, he 
should go into the case again and get a stronger grip upon 
certain points which are to help him in another contest. 



80 Working and Winning 



A STRIKING CONTRAST 

Vital Difference Between Two Classes of Securities. 

Not long ago a gentleman dropped into the office of a 
friend whom he found busily engaged at his desk. Before 
him this man of large affairs had arranged two piles of folded 
documents. 

Addressing his visitor he said: " These times of overturning 
values have been giving me some anxious thoughts and I 
have been looking over my securities, which I have placed 
here in separate piles. These stocks," he said, taking up the 
pile at his left, "were selected with great care and I used to 
think them all gilt-edged; but now some of them are quoted 
low in the market, on some interest has defaulted, and others 
are absolutely without value. As a whole they are uncer- 
tain and wx>uld be an unsatisfactory estate for my family — 
if I were taken away. 

"But this batch," and he caressingly took up the pile at 
his right, "but this batch is different — they are right there 
with the goods, if anything were to happen to me. Each 
one is absolutely worth its face in cash with no shrinkage and 
no expense. They form an ideal estate. Do you know what 
they are? They are my life insurance policies. Stocks and 
bonds are cowardly things. In times of financial distress 
they shrink away like a whipped cur. But life insurance 
policies stand the test. They show their friendship the 
strongest in times of greatest trouble. They are the one 
thing upon which you can implicitly rely." 

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," as Poor Richard says. 



The Discouraged Agent 81 



THE DISCOURAGED AGENT 

He Should Do One of Two Things— Should He Quit ? 

Notwithstanding its many attractive features, selling 
life insurance is perhaps the hardest business in the world. 
This is so because, as has been said elsewhere, men are seldom 
ready to buy, but have to be argued with, urged, and per- 
suaded as in no other line of business. Consequently, not 
a few agents, finding applications hard to get, become faint- 
hearted and discouraged. Some one has said that God 
never uses a discouraged man for any great work. Such a 
man should do one of two things — he should brace up or 
quit. There is neither logic nor profit in allowing things 
to drift along in an unsatisfactory way. 

At one of the National Republican conventions the delega- 
tion from Maine was urging the candidacy of Thomas B. 
Reed. Becoming discouraged after a while, the chairman 
swung the delegation over to an opposing candidate. There- 
upon the somewhat celebrated Sam Fessenden rushed up to 
him, and shaking his fist in the other's face exclaimed: "God 
Almighty hates a quitter!" Fessenden was greatly excited. 
If he had not been, he would have known that God is a 
Spirit of love and not of hate. Nevertheless, he gave ut- 
terance to a very human sentiment. Men do not like quit- 
ters. The great Richelieu said: "Fail! In the bright 
lexicon of youth there is no such word as fail!" What 
men admire is success. When a man quits, unless for the 
very best of reasons, he thereby admits that he has failed. 
Yet, if the insurance man, after a fair trial and mature de- 



82 Working and Winning 



liberation, discovers that he is temperamentally better 
fitted for some other line of activity, he should bravely 
make the change. " Blessed is the man who has found his 
work." 

He Should Brace Up. 

Should the eye of a man who is more or less discouraged, 
fall upon these pages, the message of this book to him is, 
11 Don't quit, but brace up!" He has established a con- 
nection with a strong company; he has already spent some 
time in learning the details of the business; he has seen a 
large number of men, and therefore has a good list of pros- 
pects. These advantages represent a certain amount of 
fixed capital, and he should not hastily throw them away, 
and start out to learn something new. Men no more ca- 
pable than he are succeeding, and why shouldn't he? Others 
have surmounted the same obstacles which confront him. 
Others have overcome the same difficulties which lie in his 
pathway. This book tells him how to make the proper 
self-examination, and how to gain that knowledge, courage, 
and determination which are so necessary to success. Study 
the suggestions and make the application. 

He Should " Get a Move On." 

When you have a fine application turned down by the 
medical department, or a competitor has defeated you in 
direct competition, or has gobbled up one of your prospects 
when you were not around, what is the use of getting the 
blues? It will be more to the point if you "get a move on" 
and round up some more applicants. "There are as good 
fish in the sea as have ever been caught," as Poor Richard 



The Agent and the Company 83 



says. So also there are yet to be written as good applications 
as have ever been secured — plenty of them. Never mind 
the things that can't be helped. Forget them, and hunt up 
something new. 

One Agent Who Braced Up. 

More than a score of years ago, a young man who had 
failed as a druggist started out in the life insurance field. 
For some weeks he did his best, but could not get a single 
application. One day, after dinner, he went alone into the 
front room of his modest home and lay down upon the 
lounge. With a little family to support and nothing in 
sight, he was bitterly discouraged, and, breaking completely 
down, he wept like a child. After a bit he came to himself. 
He felt ashamed of his weakness. Others were succeeding, 
he could. He resolved that he would. With grim deter- 
mination he went forth and before nightfall he had secured 
his first application. Slowly and doggedly he fought his 
way, and he has for many years been an Eastern general 
agent for one of the big insurance companies. 

Thousands of men have made their way to the stars through 
difficulties. 

He can, who wills. 



Many successful agents don't try to write a man on the 
first interview. They make their first call a very brief one — 
just long enough to get date of birth and some other neces- 
sary data. This makes a favorable impression and paves 
the way for a cordial reception at a future call. 



84 Working and Winning 



THE AGENT AND THE COMPANY 

The Agent Must Secure the Business. 

What a fine thing it would be if every agent could work 
for the best company in the world! It is difficult, however, 
to determine what elements combine to make one company 
the best, and it is still more difficult — indeed, it is impos- 
sible — to forecast the future superiority of any one company. 
As has been said elsewhere, the old-line system of life in- 
surance is as solid, secure, and safe as anything else in the 
world, and all — or at least nearly all — legal reserve companies 
are worthy of the attention and confidence of the insuring 
public. The older companies have made splendid records 
and the wonder is that men don't buy insurance without 
solicitation. The fact is that very few do buy without the 
importunity of the agent, and only a small proportion of 
insurers show any decided preference for one company over 
another. Some men when solicited may, indeed, select a 
company because a relative or a friend is insured in it, or 
because they may have happened to hear more about it 
than of any other. But even when they are favorably 
disposed toward a company they rarely apply for insurance 
on their own initiative. They are simply more responsive 
when the agent of a particular company approaches them. 

All of the old companies, with their millions of assets and 
their years of splendid success, have among their repre- 
sentatives good men who are producing only a fair amount 
of business. Other companies, small and comparatively 
new, with their ultimate success yet to be established, have 



The Agent and the Company 85 



men who are among the biggest writers in the business. This 
well known fact simply shows that while the fine reputation 
of the company may be a small factor in the transaction, 
after all it is, for the most part, not the company but the 
agent who secures the business. 

The sooner, therefore, the agent appreciates the fact that 
he is to secure business, and thereby earn his living, not on 
the reputation of his fine company, but by virtue of his own 
earnest, industrious, intelligent, and persistent efforts the 
better for his material welfare. He must win, not by the 
luck of representing "the best company,' ' but by the pluck 
of putting forth his best efforts to secure applications for 
life insurance. 

"He that would be well served," as Poor Richard says, 
"must serve himself.' ' 

Do not think to let your company honor you, but so live 
and labor that you will honor your company. 



Elsewhere it has been suggested that the insurance agent 
should stick to his home field and practice intensive cultiva- 
tion. It may also be wisely urged that he should stick to his 
company, and not allow any offer of a better contract to 
cause him rashly to change companies. Of course, there 
may sometimes be good reasons for a change; but, having 
selected one of the best companies, and having become 
acquainted with some of its men and identified with its 
interests, he will in the long run find that he can best pro- 
mote his own welfare by sticking to the company of his first 
love. 



86 Working and Winning 



THE PRODUCTION OF LIFE INSURANCE 

The Small Writers Produce Most of the Business. 

There are a few life insurance field workers who annually 
write in excess of one million dollars. All the regular com- 
panies have some men who produce from $250,000 upwards. 
But it is the experience of all the companies that the larger 
part of their total business is put on the books by their small 
producers — that is, by the men who write less than $100,000 
a year. The companies are proud of these big writers, and 
they always give them the chief seats in the synagogues, as it 
were. But where would the companies be without their 
army of small producers? Manifestly, the business would 
be less than one half of what it now is. While, therefore, 
these men are absolutely necessary for the success of the 
companies, it is not necessary that any large number of them 
should continue to be small writers of life insurance. 

Increased Efficiency Easily Possible. 

The trend of modern thought in all branches of trade and 
industry is to increase efficiency, and as a result more work 
per given unit is accomplished than ever before. Nobody 
doubts for a moment that the small producer could easily 
improve his efficiency. If, now, a given company which 
annually writes, say, $30,000,000, two-thirds of which is sent 
in by the small men, could induce these agents to double their 
efficiency, the company's new business would jump from 
$30,000,000 to $50,000,000— much to the delight of the 
managers and still more to the profit of the agents themselves. 



The Production of Life Insurance 87 



Nearly every small man can double his efficiency. He 
certainly can. How? By giving earnest heed to his insur- 
ance ways according to the helpful suggestions as set forth 
in this book. 

Many insurance agents try to interest young men in twenty 
year endowments for their first policies. This is probably a 
mistake. Of course, it is true that short term endowments 
promote the saving habit, and therefore have something to 
commend them; but the young man of moderate means — 
that is, the average young man — should be encouraged in the 
first place to establish protection — possibly the greatest 
amount of protection for the money he can spare. If his 
first policy is a twenty year endowment and he should marry, 
he finds that while his insurance needs have increased, his 
ability to carry more insurance has decreased — unless of 
course his circumstances have very much improved. The 
first policy, as a rule, should be on the life or long term en- 
dowment plan and later, as opportunity offers, the shorter 
forms of endowment may be added. 



Have you ever put it up to your prospect in this way: 
When a man can provide an estate for his family for any sum 
whatsoever by simply agreeing to pay from 2 to 4 per cent 
thereon during his life, or for a limited term, is it not a fine 
opportunity? He may pay this "interest" once, or he may 
pay it many times, but the estate is bound to come some 
time, or if the prospect lives into old age he may not only 
get back his "interest" money, but also a fair rate of interest 
thereon. On these terms why should not every man provide 
an estate? 



88 Working and Winning 



FIFTY YEARS OF LIFE INSURANCE 

Astounding Increase of the Business During this Period. 

Life insurance in the United States is making an enormous 
growth. A brief survey of the subject for the 50 years from 
1860 to 1910 may be interesting. Herewith are quoted from 
the New York Reports a few figures which include all com- 
panies doing business in that State : — - 

1860 1910 

Population of United States. . 31,443,312 93,000,000 

Number of policies in force. . . 56,046 6,050,617 

Total volume of insurance.. . . $163,703,455 $11,669,700,062 

Total invested assets $24,115,686 $3,693,248,328 

The above figures do not include either fraternal or indus- 
trial insurance, which would enormously swell the total. 

It will be noticed that while during the fifty years our 
population increased only threefold, the number of policies 
increased over one hundred times, the amount of insurance 
in force about seventy times, and the volume of assets over 
one hundred and fifty times. 

This is a most astounding showing. In these days when 
almost numberless attractive investment opportunities pre- 
sent themselves, the American people are putting one hun- 
dred and fifty times as much money into sound life insurance 
as they did fifty years ago, while, as above shown, there are 
only three times as many people to do it. If the figures were 
brought down to date, they would be still more striking. 

In general there are two reasons for this tremendous 



Fifty Years of Life Insurance 89 



growth of the life insurance idea. The first is that of pro- 
tection. Men have been learning that by setting aside $50, 
$500, or $5,000 per year for life insurance, they are adopting 
the only absolutely sure method of providing — in case of 
premature death — such an estate as their family needs require 
or their own income permits. 

The second reason is that of security. Nothing in this 
world may be called absolutely safe. Fires, floods, misplaced 
confidence and panics, yearly sweep away fortunes; but 
men of keen business judgment have rightly come to look 
upon sound life insurance, with its scientific adjustments and 
strict state control, as the ne plus ultra — the safest and most 
perfect system of investment that human ingenuity has thus 
far been able to devise. 

For these reasons men are turning to life insurance on a 
larger scale than ever before, and thousands are securing 
yearly or monthly income policies for their beneficiaries, who 
are thus relieved of the care of managing or the danger of 
losing their estates. 

A careful look at the present trend of affairs — the deprecia- 
tion in value of many investments, the reduction in dividends 
and in some cases the entire loss of such dividends, — is causing 
men to realize that a Life Insurance Policy is one of the very 
few investments that can be positively counted on, in the 
event of death, to pay its full face value. 



Many first-class agents invite their prospects to lunch 
with them for the avowed purpose of discussing insurance. 
In this way one or two hours can be very profitably employed. 



90 Working and Winning 



AN ARGUMENT FOR YOUNG MEN 

A Striking Difference in Cost of Insurance in Favor of 
Younger Ages. 

In order to show how much cheaper it is for men to estab- 
lish their insurance while they are young, there are herewith 
given three actual illustrations from the records of one of the 
best dividend paying companies of Twenty Payment Life 
policies taken out ten years apart at ages ten years apart. 
Let the insured be called A, B, and C, though all three poli- 
cies might just as well have been on the life of the same 
individual : — 

A B C 

Year of issue, 1874 1884 1894 

Age of insured 25 35 45 

Amount, . $1000 $1000 $1000 

Annual premium $25.97 $34.01 $45.38 

Annual dividends for 20 years. . . . 152.65 187.62 217.92 

Total premiums, less annual divi- 
dends, $366.75 $492.58 $699.68 

Subsequent annual dividends, 109.90 55.86 

Total net cost to date $256.85 $436.72 $699.68 

Reserve, or cash surrender value, 

at age 65, 660.17 660.17 660.17 

Gain, besides insurance, over total 

payments at age 65 403.32 223.45 —39.51 



An Argument for Young Men 91 



A's forty years' insurance cost $179.87 less than B's thirty, 
and S442.83 less than C's twenty. 

B's thirty years' insurance cost $262.96 less than C's twenty. 

A was insured for ten years before B began, and the mor- 
tality tables show that during this time there were 81 deaths 
to the 1000 — one in twelve. A was insured twenty years 
before C began and the deaths were 166 to the 1000 — or one 
in six. 

The policies received annual dividends and the insurance 
was therefore given at actual cost. They will continue to 
receive dividends. 

The same relative advantage in favor of younger ages 
attaches to all forms of life and endowment policies. 

The above figures challenge the attention of those young 
men who think they can profitably defer insurance until they 
have families of their own, or have accumulated ample means. 
As can be seen from the figures, the ultimate cost of insurance 
at age twenty-five is only a little more than one third that at 
age forty-five. Money cannot therefore be saved by waiting, 
but by action in the living present. 

The young man who delays may indeed save his premium 
money for a few years, but in the long run he will pay dearly 
for this doubtful advantage. 

Experience shows that most young men are materially 
helped by some form of systematic investment such as an 
insurance policy affords. 

The agent of any dividend paying company can easily 
make up from the above plan an illustration of the approxi- 
mate cost in his own company, while the agent of the stock 
company can similarly give from his own rate book actual 
cost results, corresponding to the figures above given. 



92 Working and Winning 



MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS 

Some Unclassified Pointers on Various Topics. 

" Don't walk aimlessly about; be always going some- 
where." Lay out your work the night before or early in the 
morning, so that you may know whom you are going to try 
to see. 

Don't attempt to talk insurance at social gatherings, club 
meetings, athletic games, etc., — unless you are invited to do 
so. Use these opportunities for making friends and regard 
every friend as a prospect. 

In effect the agent is selling a bond on the twenty year 
installment plan (regular twenty year endowment), with a 
positive guarantee that in case of the death of the buyer all 
unpaid installments will be canceled and the full face of the 
bond paid to the heirs, without any reduction or expense 
whatsoever. Where can any other kind of bond be bought 
on these unique terms? 

Don't waste time on the man who says that he doesn't 
believe in life insurance. He belongs to the Dark Ages. 
There are plenty of people who live in the Twentieth Cen- 
tury. Go after them. 

The insured may pay from 2 to 5 per cent of a given sum 
for from one to twenty years and the company — among other 
things — will guarantee to pay fully 6J^ per cent for the full 
period of 20 years. 

The agent must school himself to remember names and 
faces. Even a remote prospect doesn't like to be forgotten. 

When the weather is unpleasant it is much more com- 



Miscellaneous Suggestions 93 



fortable to sit in the office than to be out on the warpath. 
It should be remembered, however, that so many persons 
stay within during stormy weather that certain professional 
and business men, who are otherwise hard to reach, have 
more time then to discuss life insurance than when the weather 
is pleasa it. 

The life insurance solicitor should always seek to meet his 
prospects, not on his own, but on their level. As far as 
possible he must put himself in their place and try to look at 
things through their eyes. For instance: Many insurance 
agents tried in vain to interest the late Dr. Hostetter, who 
made an immense fortune out of Hostetter's Bitters. These 
men approached Dr. Hostetter as they would the average 
prosperous man, w4th a proposition for $10,000 or $20,000 
insurance. No impression could be made, however, until 
one day a shrewd agent, approaching the doctor, said, "Dr. 
Hostetter, our company has something very attractive in 
life investments, and I should like to submit to you a prop- 
osition for half a million insurance." Dr. Hostetter could 
not mentally consider a proposition for $10,000; but "half 
a million" was a different thing. He w^as accustomed to 
thinking in terms of millions. That proposition met him 
on his own level and he accepted it. 

The wide-awake agent will see as many new prospects as 
possible, and he will do his utmost to secure their applications 
at the first or second interview. He must remember, how- 
ever, that, in a general way, it takes from ten to fifteen inter- 
views to secure an application, and that it will require diligent 
and persistent cultivation to cause a prospect to grow into a 
responsive frame of mind. 

Don't hesitate to remind the man who is earning $4,000 



94 Working and Winning 



or $5,000 a year, and who is satisfied with $5,000 or $10,000 
of insurance, that he is putting a very low value upon his 
own time. Old Mortality may take him away at any moment 
and thus wipe out his future earnings on which he has in- 
surance equal to only one or two years' salary. 

Remind the prospect at age 35 who says he can "do better 
with his money" that according to the mortality tables he 
has just an even chance of living 30 years. Some men will 
die the first year and some the thirtieth year. If he can tell 
you whether he will be numbered among the dead half or the 
living half, you can tell him precisely what he would better do. 

Lately one of the insurance journals mentioned the case of 
a remarkably successful field-worker who wrote a large amount 
of insurance and became very prosperous. This man was 
said to be just a plain, ordinary mortal, not above average 
ability, and even his most intimate friends could not under- 
stand how he was able to accomplish so much. Finally, he 
gave away the secret of his success, and here it is: He made 
it a rule to get acquainted every day with one new person 
whose name he carefully wrote in his notebook, and whose 
acquaintance he carefully and diligently cultivated. His 
motto was, "Once known, always known." While his 
field was a large city, his method was simple, easy, and one 
which any agent can adopt. Three hundred and sixty-five 
new prospects a year, intelligently and persistently cul- 
tivated, cannot fail to yield rich returns to an agent of even 
commonplace ability and environment. 

Pin your prospect down to the stubborn fact that life in- 
surance means protection. To every objection, urge emphat- 
ically the importance of protection for the family in case of 
premature death, or for old age if the insured should live. 



In Conclusion 95 



IN CONCLUSION 

Final Words on the Price of Success. 

And, now, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 
The necessary qualifications of the successful life insurance 
agent have been pretty fully discussed. Perhaps some of 
the most successful men do not line up with all the require- 
ments which have been set forth. Unusual strength in 
certain directions accounts for their success in spite of the 
fact that they ignore or do not possess certain other funda- 
mental qualifications. No man can tell another just w^hat 
he should do and just what he should say in all cases, but 
he can lay down general principles which w^ill be always 
suggestively helpful. 

The matter herein presented is so simple and direct that he 
who runs may read and he w T ho reads may appropriate to his 
own edification and profit. These suggestions can become 
most helpful to the vast army of field men, but each man 
must w r ork out his own economic salvation. If he will only 
work industriously, persistently, intelligently, systematically, 
and courageously his success is certain. "Industry and 
perseverance will overcome all difficulties," as Poor Richard 
says. 

" If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." 



OUR BEST MUTUAL FRIEND 

LIFE INSURANCE EXPLAINED AND ITS PRINCIPLES 
SIMPLIFIED 



By Ernest C. Johnson, Author and Publisher of Working and Winning: 
or, How to Succeed in Life Insurance Field Work 



This book discusses in a plain and simple manner the fun- 
damental principles in life insurance. For the beginner in 
life insurance field work, or for the agent who has not fully 
grasped the facts and theories involved in the business, this 
book has proved of the greatest value. It does not discuss 
how to sell life insurance. 

WHAT OTHERS SAY 

W. F. Atkinson, General Agent, Brooklyn: " I have read with much interest 
'Our Best Mutual Friend,' and I think it is the best book on such lines that I 
have ever seen. * * * For the Instruction of a new agent, it is splendidly 
adapted."' 

John Mallanney, General Agent, Sioux Falls, S. D.: "I think it will be very 
helpful to our agents in the field, as well as to those contemplating taking out 
insurance. It is very practical and explains the subject clearly, so that all 
may understand." 

F. E. Saffold, General Agent, Lincoln, Neb.: "I desire to say that this book 
is by all odds the best thing of the kind I have ever seen." 

C. H. Jackson, Superintendent of Agencies, Binghamtbn, N.Y.: "I have 
read the book carefully and am very favorably impressed with its simplicity of 
expression and plain statement of facts. In my opinion it fills a long-felt want 
in that it presents the subject in simple language, eliminating technical terms 
which are always confusing to the uninitiated." 

J. B. Owens, General Agent. Wilmington, Del.: "I consider it far and far 
away the best work on the principles and practice of life insurance yet pub- 
lished, and it should prove most valuable to all interested in life insurance." 

''Our Best Mutual Friend " was written with the layman 
in mind, and it is an excellent book to lend to a prospect 
who may want to read something on insurance. 'Agents have 
testified that this book has thus helped them to secure appli- 
cations for insurance. 

Some general agents have ordered three or four different 
lots, in their zeal to put a copy into the hands of new agents. 

"Our Best Mutual Friend" is a book of 96 pages, 7Mx5J4 
inches in size, and is neatly printed and bound in cloth. 

Price, SI. 00, postpaid. Published by the author, Ernest 
C. Johnson, 707 and 708 Malley Building, New Haven, Conn. 



